Kolkata: Night-long protests were staged in multiple parts of West Bengal on the auspicious occasion of Mahalaya demanding justice for the rape and murder of the RG Kar hospital doctor.
Mahalaya marks the transition into Debi Paksha (the era of the Goddess) and coincides with the last day of Pitru Paksha. It also observes the beginning of the festive season with Durga Puja barely six days away. Hindus perform the ritual of 'tarpan' on Mahalaya in remembrance of their forefathers.
In Coochbehar, protestors held a march termed 'Abhaya'r Tarpan' in the early hours and floated lamps in the rivers and prayed for the victim's soul.
Several female demonstrators protested at the Ruby Crossing, outside the Academy of Fine Arts, Jadavpur 8B Stand, Shyambazar, Thakurpukur, VIP Road, and Dumdum Park in Kolkata.
Protests were also staged in Coochbehar, Malda, Canning and Diamond Harbour in South 24 Parganas, Sodpur and Barasat in North 24 Parganas, and Uttarpara in Hooghly, among other districts.
Writer-activist Satabdi Das, who took part in the demonstration at Renuchhaya Mancha near the Academy of Fine Arts said that their peaceful protests demanding justice for Abhaya (the victim's symbolic name) will be staged on all four days of Durga Puja.
"Goddess Durga had slayed the demon on Dashami. We also pray the demon be vanquished, and all tormentors of women punished," However, a brawl was also noticed in one of the protests as a scuffle broke out between the demonstrators and another group over raising slogans and the obstruction of the main road at Haridevpur in south Kolkata.
The protesters later filed a complaint at the police station, alleging that the ruling TMC supporters had assaulted them. Refuting such claims, Kolkata Municipal Corporation's ward 115 councillor Ratna Sur pointed fingers at the protestors, saying they vandalised a Durga Puja hoarding, and heckled her when she intervened to restore peace there.
Left Front, Congress and ISF leaders on Tuesday joined a rally called by Joint Platform of Doctors. CPM state secretary Md Salim, party's ex-state secretary Surjya Kanta Mishra, ISF MLA Nawsad Siddique, and state Congress president Subhankar Sarkar walked with senior medical professionals from College Square to Rabindra Sadan.
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