After No Reply, Mamata Banerjee Writes Again To PM Modi On Rape Cases
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrote a second letter on Friday to Prime Minister Narendra Modi following the brutal rape and murder of a trainee doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. After getting “no reply” following her first letter, dated August 22, Banerjee urged the centre to consider “stringent central legislation” and “exemplary punishment” on crimes such as rape, rape-murder and ensure quick justice.
“No reply was received from your end on such a sensitive issue,” she began the letter before adding that the reply she received from the Minister of Women and Child Development “barely attends the gravity of the issue.”
Read Also: Mamata Banerjee Writes To PM Modi Demanding Quick Trial In Rape Cases
Expressing disappointment over the lack of a detailed response addressing the issue, the TMC leader deemed the response “inadequate.”
On August 9, a 31-year-old trainee doctor’s body was found in the seminar hall of Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. Civic volunteer Sanjoy Roy was arrested as the prime accused in the rape and murder case on August 10. Soon after, massive protests led by junior doctors took over the country, demanding justice for the victim and her family, along with immediate action to ensure the safety of the medical staff. Former principal of the college, Dr. Sandip Ghosh, and prime accused Sanjay Roy are among those being questioned by the CBI.
Listing out the steps taken by the state government followed by the gruesome crime that has sparked massive protests and outrage across India, the state chief minister stated that ten exclusive POCSO courts have been approved. She added that the state funded 88 Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) and 62 POCSO-designated courts, which are operational across the state.
Banerjee urged PM Modi to intervene and permit the appointment of permanent judicial officers to these courts.
She also stated that helpline numbers 112 and 1098 are functioning in the state, while dial-100 is extensively used in emergency situations.
I have written this letter to the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India in connection with an earlier letter of mine to him. This is a second letter in that reference. pic.twitter.com/5GXKaX6EOZ
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) August 30, 2024
Read Also: “Support Their Movement”: Mamata Banerjee Denies Threatening Doctors Protesting Kolkata Rape-Murder
In her first letter, stating “it is horrifying to see that almost 90 cases of rape occur daily throughout the country,” the Bengal Chief Minister urged the Prime Minister to ensure quick justice and that trials in rape cases should preferably be completed within 15 days. While Banerjee called for the death penalty of those behind the crime, opposition leaders, activists, and citizens have severely criticised her government for its “politicisation of rape” and its failures, including the police letting miscreants vandalise the hospital amid protests.
