I could have been killed: Rituparna
KOLKATA: A protest march meant to restore the safety, dignity and rights of women after the horrific rape and murder of a young doctor at RG Kar took a shocking turn when actress Rituparna Sengupta was harassed.
On Wednesday night in Shyambazar, during the ‘Reclaim the Night’ protest, Rituparna was heckled and her car was attacked by protesters.
When she arrived at the protest site, she was met with angry shouts of “Go back”.
Videos of the incident, now circulating on social media, show both men and women yelling at her, demanding she leave. Some even attacked her car. Rituparna, seen in the videos trying to stay calm, later shared her experience with
Millennium Post. “I don’t belong to any political party. I went as a fellow city resident to stand in solidarity with the protesters. But suddenly, a group of angry people, some of whom were drunk, started pushing me. It was a chaotic scene, and I could have been killed. It felt like a stampede.”
Despite the incident, the National Award-winning actress remains determined to protest against the horrific rape-murder case at RG Kar Hospital. “This won’t stop me from protesting. First and foremost, I am a human being. The very platform meant to protect and uphold the dignity of women saw another woman’s dignity being attacked. However, my conscience is clear and I know why I joined the protests,” Rituparna said.
Meanwhile, Tollywood celebs like Kamaleshwar Mukherjee, Ananya Chatterjee, Debojyoti Mishra, Jeetu Kamal, Roopa Ganguly, Debolina Dutta, and Sudipta Chakraborty have strongly condemned the incident. “Did you forget that you just came on the streets to reclaim the night for WOMEN? Did you forget that you all are taking charge of the roads to seek justice for malhandling a WOMAN’s basic dignity, honour and rights as a human being? How could you do that? Dear Kolkatans, I condemn what you did to Rituparna Sengupta today,” posted Sudipta.
“I protest against the inhumane treatment of Rituparna Sengupta. Everyone has the right to join the movement. No one can stop anyone from participating,” wrote director Kamaleswar on social media.
Rituparna faced trolling on social media after being seen blowing a conch and then delivering a message of protest. Many online users quickly concluded that she was merely pretending to be upset to fit in with the movement. In response to that backlash, Rituparna posted on social media: “During a war for justice, let us not ridicule any other woman in the process. As women, we are in this together. We shall not cut any leeway to anybody. Justice will be our war cry.”
State Educa tion minister Bratya Basu said: “I want to state at the out et, that as a part of the frater nity, I do not endorse such an insult and humil iation meted out to such a senior and National Award-winning actor...”
