Months after the brutal rape and murder of a junior doctor left Kolkata in a state of shock and shame, another horrific incident from the West Bengal capital has come to light. This time, the rape victim is a seven-month-old girl, who is currently undergoing ICU treatment. While she was not murdered, the sexual assault on the infant was so violent that it has left the baby fighting for her life.
As per reports, the sexual assault on the infant was committed on the night of November 30. The baby was sleeping beside her parents on the pavement at the Burtolla area of Kolkata when she was abducted and raped. The victim was later left on the pavement. A resident, woken up by the distressed howling of the girl, found her alone and informed the police.
At the same time, her parents had also initiated a search and approached the cops. Soon, the two reports were tallied and the baby was reunited with her parents, who then rushed her to RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
Quoting a hospital official, the Times of India reported that the girl’s condition was on the mend and was likely to improve further. She has started to eat; and the hospital has also set up a team of four doctors to look after her.
TOI reported that when the baby was admitted to the hospital, “doctors found multiple injuries on her private parts and scratches all over her body”.
Incidentally, RG Kar Medical College and Hospital is the same institute that came under the scanner as the aforementioned rape and murder of a junior lady doctor took place inside the hospital premises after her long duty shift ended late on August 8. The murder was discovered early on August 9. The estimated time when the crime was committed was between 3am and 5am on August 9, as per reports.
Following the RG Kar incident, Kolkata witnessed a huge surge of protests, marches, and hunger strikes. While the capital of West Bengal remained the epicentre of these protests, similar marches and human chains were undertaken in various places in India, including marches organised by doctors.
While the RG Kar case was the trigger for these protests, ‘Reclaim the Night’ marches led by civil society women, with the full participation of men, also drew attention to the generally prevalent rape culture in West Bengal. This sexual assault on the infant is yet another reminder of that rape culture.
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The extreme public outrage and central agency investigations also led to the arrests of several people, including Dr Sandip Ghosh, the erstwhile principal of RG Kar. However, no arrests have been made in the November 30 incident of the infant rape.
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Even as protests against the RG Kar case were taking place in Kolkata and in some districts of West Bengal, violence erupted in Joynagar, in South 24-Parganas district, after a nine-year-old girl was found murdered in early October. Locals alleged that the victim was abducted, raped, and then murdered on October 4 while she was coming back from her tuition class.
The furious Joynagar locals alleged that police had refused to lodge a missing person complaint. An angry mob attacked the police personnel and set the police station on fire.
The situation was brought under control for a while, but it remained tense as locals held a procession with the body of the little girl on October 8. This was followed by another round of violence in the area.
Overall, frequent reports of rape, rape-murder, and other forms of violence against girls and women have put law and order in West Bengal under the scanner. While the demand for security and justice was a vital part of the protests after the RG Kar case, nothing seems to have improved, as rampant sexual violence persists even after several months.
