Maintaining objectivity
The pain is brewing in all quarters—manifesting in anger, frustration, and desperation. The horrible rape and murder of a 31-year-old medical trainee has set the nation in turmoil, leaving nobody untouched. Medical fraternity across the nation is protesting to get justice done in a time-bound manner, as well as to safeguard medics from such occurrences through a well-established framework in the future—a demand which is highly pertinent. The Indian Medical Association has also announced a 24-hour nationwide withdrawal of non-emergency services from 6 am on Saturday.
The Kolkata High Court, hearing a batch of public Interest litigations (PIL), came down heavily on the state government. The bench of Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharya directed the state to submit a reply to allegations that the renovation work was carried out to ‘wipe out’ evidence from the crime scene—an allegation which has been strongly denied by the state counsel who asserted that “nothing is correct” in the charges. He clarified that the renovation work was not conducted near the place of occurrence (PO).
Highlighting that there was no urgency for the renovation work at this point in time, the court still directed the state to file an affidavit with photographs to put on record that the crime scene is still intact. In the wake of the vandalism caused on Wednesday night, the High Court, ahead of its next hearing on August 21, has also directed the police and the hospital administration to file two separate affidavits narrating the true state of affairs and related matters. It has also directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to deliver an interim report about the progress of the investigation.
The court’s stringent actions and sharp words are very much warranted. It has asked parties to show empathy in the matter. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was expected to hold a rally on Friday, demanding justice for the victim in the form of death penalty for the main accused—a stand she has maintained since the beginning. Indeed, there could be no justification for the brutality unleashed upon the victim, and severe punishment should be handed down to the culprits. It is essential to note here that autopsy reports indicate the possibility of gang rape, since a significant amount of semen was found in the victim’s body. The possibility of a larger conspiracy involving influential people can not be ruled out.
The onus lies on the Central Bureau of Investigation to unearth the case with minutest details in a time-bound manner. As a matter of fact, the CBI has summoned five doctors in connection with the case. The main accused must be questioned thoroughly to elicit details about possible co-conspirators. He is reported to have already been disowned by his family, and charged for assault by her wife. The CBI has also summoned nine individuals in connection with the Wednesday vandalism at RG Kar Hospital—an alleged attempt to destroy evidence and malign the peaceful protests. It is very important to bring the invisible hands behind the mob action in public.
An objective and timely investigation in the case is a crucial imperative. The anger, despair, and frustration of the masses is palpable, and understandable. However, they need to behave sensitively to channelise their anger in a constructive way — so that their actions, even unknowingly, do not come in the way of justice and investigation. The High Court has maintained that masses, especially the acquaintances of the victim’s family, should be aware enough to not divulge the identity of the victim. For that matter, one has to go a step further and suggest that people do not fall prey to any form of misinformation which could be detrimental to the cause of justice. Political parties, in particular, are expected to abstain from scavenging on the highly sensitive issue to score brownie points, for the sake of humanity! While maintaining pressure, due space has to be provided to concerned authorities to conclude their investigations objectively.
