Introduction
Through the 77 years of our country’s independence, our focus has increasingly been plunged on “empowering” women with slogans like “beti bachao, beti padhao.” Somehow we even succeeded in plastering the image of a “modern independent” woman as a woman who shoulders all the responsibilities, can take care of herself and the ones around her, and is somehow even docile and obedient.
We never needed to liberate the women, the women were already very unfettered in their minds because women are born with wings until those wings are wounded and severed by the prejudiced constraints of society. Women are born with the unabated urge to fly, unperturbed, unbothered, and free. It was men whose thought processes needed liberation so that they could provide the women with the guarded vicinity where women could actually and actively BE independent.
Through the ages, women have been practicing self-sustenance, because they never really had anyone in whose embrace they could truly feel safe and carefree. Where they could actually fly with the wings that they were so generously given. Where they were not raped, abused, assaulted, or dominated.
One such case, out of the millions, has unfortunately emerged recently in Kolkata.
The Kolkata Doctor Rape Case
Hospitals are often considered consecrated places. In the hallowed halls of these hospitals where the promise of healing and hope usually fills the sterile air, a rather disturbing incident has occurred- the heinous and brutal rape and murder of a 31-year-old PG Trainee doctor inside the very premises within which she was busy saving the lives of others.
On 9th August 2024, a 31-year-old PG Trainee was dreadfully raped and murdered inside the premises of RG Kar Hospital, a State Government run hospital. The autopsy report revealed extremely gruesome and horrific details on the level of torture that was inflicted on her that night. The report detailed several severe injuries, including bleeding from the eyes and genital areas, a torn pelvic girdle, and a fractured neck bone consistent with strangulation.
The case has rightly caused a political uproar and unrest with several doctors leading nationwide protests and shutting down medical services like OPDs etc. Last midnight, women took to the streets to express their rage towards the matter and assert their demand for justice until it is righteously served. The “Reclaim the Night” march on Independence Day was not only limited to West Bengal but was widespread to Mumbai, Pune, and Delhi as well, to showcase solidarity. This has led to reaffirming women’s safety and the need for a more preventive framework rather than a retributive one for dealing with such sensitive issues.
A 31-year-old resident doctor was murdered and assaulted to the extent of unimaginable cruelty only because she decided to feel safe in the vicinity of her own workplace, only because she decided to rest and fall asleep in the seminar room of her hospital after an exhausting 48-hour shift. Although her body was found the next day semi-naked, with severe cuts and bruises on her body, in a horrendous state- shreds of evidence were tampered with, it was labeled as a suicide, and several unanswered loopholes were left hanging.
These loopholes obviously point towards the sheer politicization of the case, with fingers being pointed and no definite justice being served in the end. The case was then handed over to the CBI and the doctors were told by the government to go back to their “usual services” to remain voiceless and endure yet again. The protesters were violently attacked by a huge mob with hundreds of people attacking them and vandalizing the hospital and again, tampering with the evidence.
All eyes on the perpetrator
A civic volunteer named Sanjay Roy was arrested and taken into 14 days of custody as a prime suspect concerning the incident under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. Although there were no cameras inside the seminar hall premises, he is said to have been caught due to the Bluetooth device he had left at the crime scene. The police also found blood on his shoes on the day of the crime.
Reports have suggested that the accused has been a ‘habitual offender’ with complaints of cruelty, fraud, and domestic violence filed against him in the past as well. He was also a raging alcoholic who used to consume extremely violent pornographic videos regularly. He was also seen engaging in misconduct with peers.
But in the one week following the crime, no firm action has been taken in order to steer the path of this case towards justice. No written statements or chargesheets have been filed yet under the BNS and no official recording of the evidence has taken place. All this delay only points toward the continued attempts to erase and tamper with the evidence in order to acquit the accused and once again prevent justice from being served.
The Loopholes- All that has been left unturned
The callous nature of the handling of this particular case has pointed a great deal toward the unjust power dynamics that are at play in our country. With so many stones left unturned and so many obvious questions left unanswered, the case has reached an unavoidable deadlock. The following are some unanswered loopholes in this case that need immediate intervention-
- The parents of the victim were initially not allowed to see the dead body of their daughter.
- The whole incident was initially framed as a suicide even though the state in which the dead body was found very clearly hinted towards a gang rape and murder.
- The Principal of RG Kaur College made all attempts in order to blame the victim for being in the seminar room this late at night.
- No proper evidence was recorded. DNA Profiling is still pending. Mob vandalizing and renovating the premises were some attempts that were made in order to contaminate and erase the evidence.
- 150g semen was found inside her genitals and the doctor clearly stated that one man could only secrete about 15 g of semen in one ejaculation. The evident possibility and speculation of a gang rape has still not been taken into account by the investigating authorities.
- No written statement of her colleagues, the principal, or any other suspect involved has yet been taken or filed.
How our society perpetuates misogyny and rape culture
In my opinion, sexual violence or harassment is more about the display of control and
dominance over the victim, rather than a display of sexual desire. The vulnerability and
perception of helplessness of the victim is often what draws the perpetrators to commit such
disgusting acts. Sexual offenders are not born, they are made and the concept of a rape culture is what comes into play in this context.
Right after the horrifying Nirbhaya case, Madhumita Pandey, a UK-based research scholar conducted a survey in which she interviewed around 142 rape convicts in order to get a better understanding of their thought processes, social perceptions, attitudes and particularly, what leads them to rape in the first place. Through her research, she demonstrated how social conditioning normalizes rape culture and victim blaming within our society.
To her surprise, she found out that most of the rape convicts do not feel any remorse for what they did as they believe that the victim somehow “deserved” it. A lot of these convicts were not even aware that they had committed an offense. In fact, they justified their act by stating that the victim deserved it as she was of “loose character.” This concept is comprehensively known as victim blaming.
The urge to commit an offense as grave as rape or sexual assault stems from the urge to gain dominance and power rather than lust, from a broader perspective. This presence of the urge to gain dominance and superiority is engrained in the minds of men from a very young age when they are put on a higher pedestal than women from the very initial stages of their lives.
Also, as a society when we label women as someone with a “loose character” just for living freely, however they please, and not adhering to the traditionalist ideologies of the society, we tell the men that it is acceptable to sexually assault them in case they do not listen to them or follow their perception of how a woman should be and act like.
Conclusion
Legally we believe in retraining and jailing the offender who has committed the crime in the first place, then why is it that, societally we only constrain the victim? In fact, we blame the victims for what has happened to them. When rape is committed in this country, everyone eyes at a golden opportunity to politicize and religionize it, but the root cause of it is- mindset.
Victim blaming in Indian society is a deeply ingrained issue that perpetuates injustice and hinders progress toward a more equitable and safe environment for all. It is a societal problem that demands collective action—where cultural norms are questioned, legal systems are reformed, and public attitudes are transformed. Only by shifting the focus from the victim to the perpetrator, and by supporting survivors with empathy and justice, can Indian society begin to dismantle the harmful legacy of sexual assault and harassment and create a safer haven for our women.
-ANANYA GUPTA
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