Kolkata doctor rape-murder case: From New York City to London, demand for justice blurs borders

KOLKATA: From New York City's Times Square to Canada; from the UK to Germany, and Bangladesh, protests were held, and are being organized, across the world in a show of solidarity with those in Kolkata fighting for justice for the RG Kar rape-murder victim.
Sayantan Das, who participated at the midnight protest at Times Square on Aug 14, said there were around 40 people who gathered in a show of solidarity with students and women in Bengal."Some scientists and researchers of New York organized the protest and we carried leaflets and posters. There were many Indians who were nearby and they asked us about the incident. Finally, when we sang the National Anthem, they joined us," Das said.
On Sunday, Los Angeles Indians will gather at Lake Hollywood Park at 11 am to protest in front of the Hollywood signage. Babli Chakraborty, an LA-based teacher who grew up in Kolkata, said, "Some 250 Indians are expected to turn up. Earlier on, rape survivors never spoke because of shame. Now, it is crucial to raise our voices."
The Bengali community of Houston, including members of Houston Durgabari Society and Tagore Society of Houston, came out to protest the RG Kar incident. "The fact that an educated working woman standing up to corruption was raped and murdered points to a complete systematic failure at medical institutions," said Rituparna Roy one of rally organisers.
In Chicago, the Bengali community organised a protest-cum-vigil on Thursday. "The protest came together on 24 hours' notice. We will continue to organize, support, resist, and fight on a much larger scale," said lawyer Sharmistha Banerjee.
"Around 150 people gathered in Atlanta on Aug 14 from 5.45 pm to 8.15 pm to demand justice and appeal for a systematic change to address discrimination and violence against women," said Ambarish Mitra from Atlanta.
Around 35 members of the expat Bengali community in Cologne, Germany, along with their non-Bengali friends, decided to meet on Aug 15 at Cologne Cathedral staircase in the main station square to voice their protest. English teacher Sukanya Chakraborty (36) from Kolkata started off the protest by deciding "not to wish anyone a good evening" and ending her speech with "no mercy". Debaschmidt Biswas, who organized the meet with Soumi Chakraborty and Sukanya Chakraborty, read out a poem by his mother on women's plight in her city. The meeting ended with a walk with candles in hand and demands of "Justice for RG Kar, Justice for Kolkata".

Homemaker Amrita Roy joined her fellow warriors at Crown Point Shopping Centre in Leeds, UK on Aug 14. "I am hurt and angry. We wore all-black attires and observed a minute’s silence before speaking about the issue. Not a single rapist should go unpunished. No one dare hush up the matter. I demand transparency in a fast-tracked probe," Roy said.
Doctors from Bengal and other parts of India working in the UK organized a protest in Manchester on Wednesday, joined by other Indians who participated in a candlelight march. "This is a shocking incident," said Arunava Dhar, a neonatologist at Cambridge, an alumnus of RG Kar. Protests spread to other areas, including London's Trinity Church, Princes Street in Edinburgh, and the main square of Poland's Krakow. A candlelight vigil was organized in Canada's Thistletown Community Centre while many assembled at Elizabeth Milburn Park in Austin. In Ashland, Massachusetts, and the nearby towns of Hopkinton and Holliston, the Bengali community held an event.

On Friday night, female students at Dhaka University organized a protest against the RG Kar incident. The protest also aimed to raise a voice for all rape survivors in Bangladesh who have been denied justice in the past, demanding speedy trials for the perpetrators. Doctor-turned-actor Azmeri Haque Badhon, who was part of the protest, said, "I used social media to register my protest. These criminals roam freely while unleashing barbaric attacks on women. The RG Kar incident is not an isolated one. No one receives justice. It is important to address this issue on a global scale."