New Delhi: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrote a second letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the brutal rape and murder of a post-graduate trainee doctor at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
"You may kindly recall my letter No.44-CM dated August 22, 2024 (copy enclosed) regarding the need for stringent Central legislation on incidents of rape and meting out exemplary punishment to perpetrators of such crimes. No reply was received from your, end on such a sensitive issue," Ms Banerjee's letter read.
The Bengal Chief Minister expressed disappointment at the lack of a direct response from the Prime Minister to her previous letter, dated August 22. Instead, she received a generic reply from the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development, which she deemed inadequate given the gravity of the issue.
On August 9, the body of the trainee doctor was found inside the RG Kar hospital premises. In its aftermath, massive protests and strikes were organised by doctors across the country with the Supreme Court itself intervening on its own to hear the case. Among those being questioned are the prime accused Sanjay Roy and the former principal of the college Sanjib Ghosh.
Chief Minister Banerjee pointed out in her letter that her government in West Bengal has already taken significant steps to address the issue. She mentioned the establishment of ten exclusive Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) courts, alongside 88 Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) and 62 POCSO-designated courts, all funded by the state. Ms Banerjee urged PM Modi to intervene and allow for the appointment of permanent judicial officers to these courts.
In her August 22 letter to the Prime Minister, Ms Banerjee claimed that 90 rape cases occur daily throughout the country.
In response to the letter, Annapurna Devi, Union Minister for Women and Child Development, wrote that the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, implemented last month, "comprehensively addresses the issues of crimes against women by providing stringent punishments".
Ms Devi alleged that West Bengal had been allocated 123 fast-track courts to handle cases of rape and child abuse, but many of these courts have yet to become operational.