As the father-daughter duo lit candles at the protest site, fellow protesters sang Rabindranath Tagore's "Aguner Poroshmoni" as a mark of solidarity
Amid country-wide protests against the rape and murder of a doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, former Indian cricketer Sourav Ganguly, his wife Dona Ganguly and daughter Sana Ganguly joined a candlelight protest in West Bengal’s capital city on Wednesday evening.
The legendary India captain, fondly referred as ‘Dada’, reached “Diksha Manjari”, a dance school run by his wife in Behala locality of Kolkata in the evening amid rains. He was wearing a grey t-shirt while Dona and Sana were seen wearing black-coloured clothes like other protesters there.
As the father-daughter duo lit candles at the protest site, fellow protesters sang Rabindranath Tagore’s “Aguner Poroshmoni” as a mark of solidarity.
While Dona and Sana expressed their anger over horrific rape-murder case while speaking to reporters, Sourav avoided the media.
Speaking to reporters, Sana said, “We want justice, this has to stop. Every day we hear about some rape case and we feel bad that this is happening even in 2024 and this has to stop.”
VIDEO | Kolkata rape-murder case: “We want justice, whatever it takes to get it…” says Sana Ganguly, daughter of former Indian cricketer Sourav Ganguly, as she participates in candlelight protest along with her mother Dona Ganguly. #KolkataHorrorpic.twitter.com/vNyNLKhPBV— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 21, 2024
Dona Ganguly, wife of Sourav Ganguly who was also a part of the protest said, “We are protesting against rape. We need a safe society. Rape needs to stop.”
The medic’s body was found in the hospital’s seminar room on the morning of August 9. A civic volunteer, who was an outsider frequenting the hospital premises, was arrested the next day in connection with the case.
Meanwhile, the new principal of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital Suhrita Pal, the HOD of the Chest Department and one Assistant Superintendent were removed from their posts on the students’ demand by West Bengal Health Department.
In addition to this, the Health Department also cancelled ex-principal Sandip Ghosh’s appointment as the principal of Calcutta National Medical College. Notably, Ghosh is currently being probed by the CBI for his alleged mishandling of the rape case.
The Supreme Court has asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to file a status report on the status of the investigation in the rape case. The court asked the West Bengal government to file a status report on the mob attack incident in the RG Kar hospital on August 15.
Doctors and medics across the country have been protesting, holding candlelight marches, and temporarily refusing care for non-emergency patients since August 9 over the killing of the trainee doctor, demanding justice. They say that the assault highlights the vulnerability of healthcare workers in hospitals and medical campuses across India.
Sourav Ganguly’s DP Turns Black Amid Kolkata Rape-Murder Protests
Sourav Ganguly has changed his profile picture on his social media handles to the colour black, joining thousands of social media users who have done the same to show their solidarity with the trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital who was raped and murdered.
As the nation saw continued protests, demanding justice for the deceased trainee doctor, a separate online movement began urging people to change their display pictures, aka DPs in tech parlance, to black colour.
The decorated cricketer had earlier in a video that has gone viral termed the rape and murder of the trainee doctor as an ‘one-off’ incident, dividing the internet.
“I don’t think everything should be judged on an isolated incident. There is no room to think that everything or everyone is not safe for this (incident). Such accidents happen all over the world. It is wrong to think that girls are not safe. Not only in West Bengal, but everywhere in India, women are safe. Where we live is the best place. One should not judge by one incident,” Ganguly told reporters at the Biswa-Bangla Convention Centre during an event.
The comment led to online backlash for the cricketer who led India in the 2003 World Cup to the finals in South Africa. The now-retired left-handed batsman faced criticism online, forcing him to offer a clarification.
(with agency inputs)
