Kolkata rape case: Victim’s statue unveiled at RG Kar hospital, sparks row

Nearly two and a half months after the horrific rape and murder of a postgraduate doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, a new controversy has erupted following the installation of a statue of the deceased trainee doctor near the building that houses the office of RG Kar’s principal.
The statue, named ‘Cry of the Hour,’ was installed on a pedestal near the hospital by the protesting junior doctors of the medical facility. According to the artist Asit Sain, the sculpture depicts the victim’s horror during her final moments.
Speaking to reporters, a junior doctor of the hospital said, as quoted by India Today, “This statue is not of the victim, but a symbol of pain and torture she went through and the ongoing protests.”
However, the installation of the trainee doctor’s statue has created a row as several people called it ‘disrespectful’ and ‘disturbing’.
“Want her statue to be erected? Do it with anything other than it being her agonised face or whatever. Whatever the f*** this is, is highly disturbing,” a user tweeted.
“The doctors of this country are so tone-deaf. Why would you ever create a statue like this based on a rape victim,” another said.
“Speechless at how insensitive this is. To have one’s pain immortalised, to only be known for being sexually violated. I hope this disgusting statue is destroyed,” commented a third social media user.
Even Trinamool Congress leader Kunal Ghosh slammed the doctors for installing the trainee doctor’s statue. He noted that the act was against the guidelines of the Supreme Court, which bars from revealing the victim’s name and identity.
“No responsible person can do that. Not even in the name of art. There will be protests and demands for justice. But the statue is not right with the face of the girl in pain. There are guidelines not to use victim’s pictures or statues,” he tweeted.
However, Dr Debdutt of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital was quoted in the report as saying, “We have not broken any rules or neglected the court’s order. This is just a symbolic sculpture and we don’t want to depict only her. We want to show the authorities what had happened and how she had suffered. We will continue to fight for justice.”
On August 9, the trainee doctor was raped and murdered at the RG Kar hospital. Following this, several protests took place in Kolkata and the matter was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation for probe.
The case is sub-judice, and the Supreme Court is hearing the case.
With agency inputs.