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Brutal rape, murder taints Kolkata’s reputation as India’s safest city for women

  • The gruesome killing of a trainee doctor has left Kolkata’s women grappling with fears for their safety in what was once considered a haven

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Activists and medical professionals protest on August 12 to condemn the rape and murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata. Photo: AFP

Sudeshna Basu always considered Kolkata, the vibrant state capital of West Bengal, a safe haven for women like herself. But on a recent evening, the 52-year-old Sanskrit lecturer found her sense of security shattered when an autorickshaw driver brazenly catcalled her on her way home from work.

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It was just after 9pm – a time Basu and many Kolkatans once regarded as still relatively early and unthreatening. Yet, as she walked by Sovabazar metro station, Basu encountered a group of drunk men causing a ruckus, a scene she says would have been unimaginable in the city’s not-too-distant past.

“Earlier, 9pm was never late for us, but now the city’s law and order seems to have collapsed,” she said. “Plus, the police never listen to women’s complaints.”

Basu’s unease reflects a palpable shift in the fabric of this bustling metropolis, long touted as India’s safest city for women. The rape and murder of a 31-year-old trainee doctor inside a state-run hospital on August 9 has only further fuelled outrage and angst among Kolkata’s residents towards what some see as the complete breakdown of law and order in the state.

“We are angry as this is personal,” said Koyel Ghosh, a 35-year-old non-binary queer feminist activist who helped organise overnight “Reclaim the Night” protests in the wake of the tragedy. “As individuals, our personal angst has fuelled our political will to rise in resistance”.

Medical professionals, activists and citizens chant as they take part in a “Reclaim the Night” protest in Siliguri, West Bengal, on Wednesday last week. Photo: AFP
Medical professionals, activists and citizens chant as they take part in a “Reclaim the Night” protest in Siliguri, West Bengal, on Wednesday last week. Photo: AFP

Physiotherapist Amrita Bhattacharya, 27, was repeatedly tear-gassed by police during the demonstrations, even as she watched them allow a mob of armed men to storm the hospital premises and destroy property. She said the doctor’s killing had shaken her sense of security in a city where she once felt safe.

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