Kolkata rage spills over at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park

Protest gathers steam at Shivaji Park. Pic/Shadab Khan

The winds of anger and anguish singed Shivaji Park on Sunday late morning as citizens, medicos, and those allied with the medical profession gathered for a rally for justice in the Kolkata doctor rape-murder case. News about the death that has outraged a nation and beyond with protests have been held overseas, too, is taking new and sinister turns daily. The protest took off yesterday at noon, with participants circling the park's inner periphery, banners aloft, fists pumping the air.

Shivaji Park resident Shashikant Adhav said, "All we hear is that an investigation is ongoing. Bogus, placatory statements. We want to hear that punishment is meted out, one severe enough to ensure justice and prove a massive deterrent." Jitendra Singh also seated on the ‘katta' of the Shivaji Park as it is known locally asked, "We need to talk much more about the parents' suffering. Really amplify that."

Whistleblower theory

Some were there to show support for the victim and family, others to make statements, slam the system and ask questions. "It is a question of humanity," said Sumanto Banerjee from Vile Parle adding, "These are our sisters." There were a number of rallyists who believed in the theory that the victim was assaulted because she was expected to disclose some "fraud" within the hospital, they claimed. As it happens with prospective whistleblowers, she was done away with to stop that expose.

Voices must be heard, said rally participants at Shivaji Park. Pic/Shadab Khan

No stopping

So great was the anger and indignation that many like Jennifer D'Souza believed, "In so many of these cases, you have jail and bail. It drags on for years. Is there any stopping to the assaults on women? There has been a case in Mumbai yesterday, Manipur… the list goes on."

Archana Soparkar from Sion said, "Nobody should be treated like this. There are constant questions about the clothes a woman is wearing, or why she was somewhere, and it brings us to tears. Today, people are wary of opening a newspaper, not knowing what atrocity they will read about."

Poster power

There were many men participating in the protest too, underlining that this is not a gender issue. Several posters read: ‘She saved lives. Who protected her?' and ‘No more candles to burn. Burn the rapist.' A lady at the forefront of the group shouted, "We want heads to roll. Why was the cremation allowed in 12 to 14 hours? Vandalism destroyed evidence too. Heads? They need to roll," she said as more people joined in.

What safety?

"This is a citizen's movement, where we are asking for more security for all in the profession. Today, we have 60 per cent of students who are female, studying to become doctors. Do they have facilities? Separate duty rooms? Toilets? These are absent in many facilities, in spite of the fact that they are doing 24-hour duties. If this goes on, we will not see a good quality of doctors coming through the system. Protection for doctors is a must," said Dr Shivkumar Utture vice-president, the National Indian Medical Association. Utture and Dr Vijay Chinchade, secretary Mahim Dharavi Medical Practitioners Association (MDMPA) present at the site, concurred that today, "Parents of girls are urging their daughters not to opt for the medical profession." A lady said, "I have doctors in my family who are telling their children to steer clear of medicine, that is the tragic and bitter reality."

Safety audit

Protester Varsha P Tawde said, "Every workplace must have a safety audit done. There is corruption from the top to the bottom, we need to weed it out." There was Dr Anshu Kulkarni, Madhuri Gadgil and Pratibha Girish in the rally. Kulkarni said this boiled down to "power dynamics." They stressed this was not a "women's issue" and pointed out, "This is a global issue. Rallies have taken place in New York. The whole world is affected. Our blood is boiling. Note that reports state her pelvic bones were broken, there was glass in her eye, shocking brutality, and the perpetrator needs to be tortured."

As the rally escalated and voices were raised to a crescendo, most present said, "The perpetrator must be tortured and face the same pain the victim has, death by hanging will be too easy for him, keep him alive and let him experience similar brutality."