The Eastern Metropolitan Bypass in Kolkata runs along the eastern flank of the metropolis and connects the southern part of the city with its eastern cousin. Along with some imposing structures along the arterial road, the Yuva Bharati Krirangan (Salt Lake stadium) is hard to miss. The massive facility can accommodate well above a lakh spectators and has played host to some of the biggest sporting and cultural events of the city.
On August 18 the stadium was ready to host the century-old Kolkata Derby as part of the historic Durand Cup, Asia’s oldest football tournament, where arch-rivals Mohun Bagan and East Bengal were supposed to lock horns. The teams were ready, the players were ready, organisers were ready, but the administration was not.
Literally shaken from their experience of the night of August 14 when a violent mob outnumbered the police and went on a rampage inside the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, where a 31-year-old female medical post-graduate student was raped and murdered inside her own Pulmonology department, the Mamata Banerjee-administration knew that a huge congregation like this derby would be a perfect stage to collectively seek 'justice' for the victim, it did what it does best – stifle. The administration told the organisers that security can't be provided for the match. The result was the cancellation of the derby.
The Bengal administration thought it had won round one. But, could hardly realise that it had already scored a same-sided goal. The very Sunday, which the Mamata Banerjee-government did not want to see, turned on it with thousands of supporters of the two clubs protesting outside the stadium. The August afternoon asked, "If the government can deploy such a huge police contingent to stop our protest, what prompted them to cancel the derby on the pretext of not being able to provide security inside the stadium? Whom are they trying to fool?” In a never before show of unity, supporters of the two-century-old football clubs joined hands and stood shoulder to shoulder under blinding rain while joined by the supporters of another football major Mohammedan Sporting Club, demanding justice for the RG Kar medico.
Did Mamata Banerjee start losing the plot that afternoon? Because what her administration did not understand is, the basic premise of a protest of this sort is to instill uneasiness among the political dispensation. But, if that political fear precipitates within the rank and file of the police and administration, then some serious questions are bound to rise.
And questions did rise. They were loud enough on the intervening night of August 14-15, when thousands across Bengal poured on to the streets seeking 'justice' for the raped and murdered medico. Huge gatherings are not new to Kolkata. In fact, it has earned a dubious distinction for it. But, when a mass mobilisation happens, that too predominantly of women responding to the 'Reclaim the Night' campaign, then anger on the streets becomes live and present. And it has not stopped since. Via the protests outside the stadium, questions have only become sharper as it ringed through college and university campuses, courts, IT hubs, medical institutions or performing arts spaces and now in schools.
This is where Mamata Banerjee failed. She simply could not gauge the gravity of the situation. Since August 9 when the heinous crime came to light, there have been several steps where the Bengal government repeatedly faltered, fueling speculations that the administration was desperate to cover-up. Negligence, lack of transparency, insensitive handling of public outrage, an abrupt renovation work adjacent to the crime scene, parents kept waiting for a glimpse of their daughter’s body, the mad rush to cremate the body, failure of the police in preventing vandalism inside the hospital on the night of August 14, blaming the media and social media users and police action against those who were critical on social media against mishandling of the investigation - the list simply gets longer.
Adding fuel to fire was the curious case of Dr Sandip Ghosh, the beleaguered principal of RG Kar Medical College. Ghosh, who was accused of trying to pass the rape and murder case as suicide, resigned in face of a massive outrage against him, only to be re-appointed as principal of the Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital (CNMCH) within hours.
Fresh protests and the CNMCH students refusing him entry, forced the government to cancel his new appointment. Such was the power of this orthopaedics professor in the corridors of Mamata’s government that even after complaints of financial irregularities, no one could touch him. In June last year, Ghosh was transferred to Murshidabad Medical College after allegations of corruption. But, he was back within a fortnight. A month later the deputy superintendent of RG Kar Medical College wrote to the state vigilance commission accusing Ghosh of illegal sale of biomedical waste and misuse of the COVID-19 funds. An inquiry was initiated, but mysteriously the findings never saw the light of day.