West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding stricter laws in rape cases. The development came against the backdrop of public outrage over the gruesome rape and murder of a junior doctor at a government hospital in Kolkata.
The government led by Mamata Banerjee has faced severe criticism for the rape and murder case and the subsequent vandalism at RG Kar Hospital where the incident occurred.
The Supreme Court, hearing the Calcutta rape case, said it “could not understand” why the state government was unable to “get a handle on the problem of vandalism” at the hospital.
Mamata Banerjee, for her part, blamed the BJP and the Left (Ram and Bam) for the vandalism at RG Kar Hospital, claiming that they were trying to destroy evidence in the rape case.
The aspiring doctor was raped in the hospital’s seminar room and her body was found on August 9. A day after the incident, Mamata Banerjee said her government would Death penalty for the perpetrator.
She also had warned the police that the investigation would be handed over to the CBI if they failed to solve the case by August 18.
However, on August 13, the Calcutta High Court transferred the investigation to the CBI. In its order, the Supreme Court pointed to “grave lapses” on the part of the hospital administration and said that even after five days, there had been no significant progress in the investigation.
The Prime Minister took a Mass rally in Calcutta on August 17, demanding justice for the victim and the execution of the defendant, a police volunteer.
