Kolkata hospital rape-murder: Why this could be Mamata’s toughest hour

Days after the Calcutta High Court pulled up the Bengal government, the Supreme Court has taken up the matter suo motu.

The clear proof of the uphill task Mamata faces is that her personal intervention has not placated the protesters this time. One example was the CM hitting the streets in “protest”. It was a pure Mamata moment. However, this time few were taken in, with many noting that the CM holds both Home and Health – the two portfolios at the heart of the public ire.

In the beginning, Mamata seemed to hit all the right notes. Unlike the 2012 Park Street gangrape, one year after she came to power, which she dismissed as a “shajano ghotona (staged incident)”. Or the 2013 Kamduni gangrape, where the police were slow to react and which Mamata took note of only after protests spread. Or the Sandeshkhali episode, where several women accused local TMC strongmen of sexual harassment, and which the Mamata government brushed off as a conspiracy.

R G Kar is different at several levels, as it involves a doctor, assaulted at her work place, in the middle of capital city Kolkata – striking a resonance across the country. Mamata seemed to be cognizant of this, with one of her first statements after the crime became known being that she was ready to hand over the probe to the CBI.

In an interview to ABP Ananda, Mamata said: “Their (the protesting doctors’) anger is justified… I also spoke to the family of the victim… I have directed that the case be taken to a fast-track court. If needed, the accused will be hanged… Those who are protesting, if they don’t have faith in the state administration, they can approach any other law enforcement agency.”

However, Mamata’s strong words were seen as not reflecting her government actions on the ground. Even as she delayed meeting the family of the killed doctor, R G Kar Principal Sandip Ghosh, who was shifted in the wake of the incident, was immediately made principal of Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital.

It wasn’t just bad optics but also an egregious omission given the cloud over the hospital administration over its initial response, including keeping the parents of the doctor in the dark. Hospital authorities, including Ghosh, are alleged to have misrepresented the case initially as a “suicide”.

Later, the Calcutta High Court also pulled up the hospital administration for not coming forward to file a complaint, and put on hold Ghosh’s new appointment, sending him on an extended leave of absence. The CBI, which has taken over the case on the High Court’s orders, has since extensively interviewed Ghosh, further inviting a question mark over the government’s “support” to him.

But worse was to come. On August 14 night, as protesters filled up Kolkata streets seeking justice for the murdered doctor, a mob went on a rampage at R G Kar Hospital, beating up the demonstrating doctors and nurses. The police were accused of “actively becoming inactive”.

Questions are swirling now over the identity of the mob, with at least some TMC workers part of it, as reported by The Indian Express. Mamata has accused the CPI(M) and BJP of planning it, convincing few.

This was followed by the ill-timed “routine” transfer of 42 doctors, which was hastily withdrawn after the government was accused of acting against doctors for participating in protests over the R G Kar incident.

Demands for Mamata’s resignation have come from both the BJP and CPI(M), with Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari calling her a “failure” as the Home and Health Minister. Even the TMC’s INDIA allies are speaking up. In a statement that drew immediate condemnation from the TMC, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi posted on X: “The attempt to save the accused instead of providing justice to the victim raises serious questions on the hospital and the local administration.”

But TMC leaders too are coming forward to express their discomfort. One of the first was TMC Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, who joined the August 14 protest march saying “I have a daughter and a granddaughter, like millions of Bengali families”.

Ray went on to seek the interrogation of Ghosh as well as the Kolkata Police Commissioner “to know who and why floated the suicide story”, why construction work continued in R G Kar close to the crime site, and why sniffer dogs were deployed late.

Ray was subsequently summoned by the Kolkata Police for interrogation for spreading “misinformation”.

Ex-Rajya Sabha MP of the TMC Shantanu Sen has said that while he remains “a loyal TMC soldier”, “some people are giving wrong advice to the Chief Minister”. It was seen as a swipe at some party leaders, apart from bureaucrats. Echoing Sen, veteran TMC leader Sovandeb Chattopadhyay said, “This situation has been created. I think the Chief Minister was not properly briefed.”

A senior TMC leader said: “The administration should have transferred the case to the CBI on the first day. They were seen as trying to save some health administrators and doctors. This has tarnished our government and the CM’s image.”

The leader added that, if unchecked, the developments could hit the TMC’s women vote bank. “Apart from Muslims, Mamata Banerjee’s main vote bank are women due to her social welfare programmes,” the leader pointed out.

Already, the Mamata government is on the backfoot on several fronts. There are the corruption cases, with senior leaders in the dock; the rampant violations during the panchayat elections of 2018 and 2023; the roughing up of Central officials; and the constant and often ugly tension with the Raj Bhavan.

Among those backing Mamata is TMC North Bengal leader Udayan Guha, who said: “Those who are raising fingers at CM Mamata Banerjee, we will break their fingers.”

Another vocal supporter, TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee, said, “Some people think that just like Bangladesh, in West Bengal as well, some people will sing and the Mamata Banerjee government will fall. That is not possible here. The Trinamool will boycott those artists who are now singing. Then what will they do?”

To many, however, such declarations are precisely what the TMC government does not need – if it wants to shed its image of a regime gone lawless.