Former Indian cricketer and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Harbhajan Singh today wrote an open letter to West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, expressing his “deep anguish” over the delay in justice for the Kolkata rape and murder victim.
The letter came a week after a 31-year-old trainee doctor was raped and murdered at the seminar hall of the government-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. The August 9 incident has sparked widespread outrage and protests across the country.
Mr Singh said the letter, which was also addressed to the citizens of India, was a call for "justice and introspection".
"This unspeakable act of violence, which shook the conscience of all of us, is not just a heinous crime against one individual but a grave assault on the dignity and safety of every woman in our society. It is a reflection of the deeply rooted issues within our society and a blatant reminder of the urgent need for systemic change and action by the authorities," he said in the two-page letter, which was also shared on his official X (formerly Twitter) account.
With deep anguish over delay in justice to the Kolkata rape and murder victim, the incident which had shaken the conscience of all of us, I have penned a heartfelt plea to the Hon'ble Chief Minister of West Bengal , Ms. @MamataOfficial Ji and Hon’ble @BengalGovernor urging them… pic.twitter.com/XU9SuYFhbY
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) August 18, 2024
"The fact that such an atrocity could occur within the premises of a medical institution, a place dedicated to healing and saving lives, is both shocking and unacceptable," Mr Singh said.
He said that more than a week has lapsed and we are yet to see any "concrete action", adding that it has led the doctors and the medical community to protest on roads.
"Their (doctors) protests are understood and I wholeheartedly support the medical community in their fight for their cause of justice," he said.
"The medical community is already working in challenging conditions. With such incidents, how can we expect them to perform their duties with dedication when their own safety is so gravely compromised?," the Rajya Sabha MP asked.
He urged the West Bengal government and the investigating agency, CBI, to take immediate and decisive action to ensure that the perpetrators of this "vile act" are brought to justice swiftly.
Mr Singh also said that such incidents are reported from different parts of the country and “have become regular columns” on newspapers and TV programmes.
"The governments must implement comprehensive measures to prevent such occurrences in the future," he wrote.