Mamata Banerjee failed to handle situation, should resign: Nirbhaya's mother on Kolkata rape-murder

Instead of using her power to act against the culprits, the Chief Minister is trying to divert people’s attention by holding protests, says Nirbhaya’s mother

A placard outside Union Health Ministry’s office in Nirman Bhawan in the Capital on Friday. | Photo Credit: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar

Amid protests against the alleged rape and murder of a trainee doctor in West Bengal, the mother of Nirbhaya, the victim of the 2012 Delhi gang rape case, on Saturday (August 17, 2024) demanded the resignation of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee saying she had "failed" to handle the situation.

“Instead of using her power to act against the culprits, the Chief Minister is trying to divert people’s attention by holding protests,” Nirbhaya’s mother said.

The 31-year-old postgraduate trainee doctor was allegedly raped and murdered while on duty at R G Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on August 9. Students of her college and doctors in different parts of the country have been holding protests to seek justice for the victim.

Criticising Ms. Banerjee, Nirbhaya’s mother said, “Instead of using her authority to take action against the culprits, Mamata Banerjee is trying to mislead the public.”

“Mamata Banerjee is protesting to divert people’s attention from this issue. She herself is a woman. She should have taken strict action against the culprits while discharging her responsibility as the head of the state. She should resign because she has failed to handle the situation,” she added.

Ms. Banerjee led a protest rally from Moulali to Dorina Crossing in Kolkata on Friday (August 16, 2024), demanding justice for the woman doctor. She demanded that the culprits be hanged.

Nirbhaya’s mother said until Central and State governments get serious about seeking swift punishment from the Court for rapists, such brutality will continue to take place in different parts of the country every day.

"When girls are not safe in Kolkata's medical college and such barbarity is committed against them, then one can understand the state of women's safety in the country," she said.

A day after the trainee doctor was allegedly raped and killed, West Bengal Police arrested one person in connection with the crime. Later, citing lapses in the police investigation, the Calcutta High Court transferred the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).