Tens and thousands of people ignored heavy rains and inclement weather to walk on the streets of Kolkata and in several corners of West Bengal on Sunday night demanding justice for the female doctor who was raped and murdered in state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, an incident which has triggered nationwide demonstrations from all sections of the society.

In Kolkata, protests were held in Behala, Lake Town, Salt Lake and other corners of the city where demonstrators were seen holding placards, shouting slogans and holding candle marches to demand justice for the doctor whose case is currently being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation.

One of the protesters in Behala told media: "We only want justice for the victim. We have assembled from all corners of Behala today to fight for the victim."

Similar protests swept several corners of West Bengal, other Indian cities and even crossed borders and reached Canada on August 14, a day before India celebrated Independence Day, when slogans demanding justice and ensuring women's safety clamoured the night sky.

East Bengal-Mohun Bagan supporters unite to protest RG Kar horror

In an unimaginable show of unity between two traditional arch-rivals of Kolkata derby, fans of both East Bengal and Mohun Bagan football clubs on Sunday assembled in thousands outside Kolkata's Salt Lake stadium despite the cancellation of the Durand Cup match and raised slogan for justice for the RG Kar Hospital rape and murder victim.

Police allegedly lathi-charged to disperse the supporters of football giants East Bengal and Mohun Bagan who were demonstrating for the trainee doctor who was raped and murdered in RG Kar Medical College Hospital recently. A suspected cover-up attempt triggered a massive protest against the Mamata Banerjee government.

A woman protester told a local media channel: "The protest cannot be stopped by merely lathicharing us."

Meanwhile, the scheduled derby match between the two Kolkata football giants has been cancelled.

The protesters were seen holding Mohun Bagan or East Bengal flags during their demonstration on Kolkata's EM Bypass area.

SC takes suo moto cognizance of case

Taking suo moto cognizance of the rape and murder of a PG trainee doctor in RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, the Supreme Court on Sunday announced it would take up the matter on August 20.

The incident has triggered a massive protest across India with people demanding justice for the victim.

Kolkata, the epicentre of the protest, witnessed multiple demonstrations over the weekend.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, Justice J B Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra have decided to hear the case.

Meanwhile, the Kolkata Police Sunday summoned Trinamool Congress MP Sukhendu Shekhar Ray for allegedly spreading misinformation about the details surrounding the brutal rape and murder of a post-graduate trainee doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. The summons comes hours after the TMC leader raised serious questions about the conduct of the investigation by the Kolkata Police.

The summons follows closely on the heels of the Kolkata Police issuing notices to actor-turned-BJP leader Locket Chatterjee and two doctors - Kunal Sarkar and Subarno Goswami - over misinformation spread too.

In a strongly worded post on X, Sukhendu Shekhar Ray claimed that a dog squad was sent to the crime scene three days after the body of the victim was found on August 9.

He expressed his dissatisfaction with the handling of the case by the Kolkata Police and demanded the custodial interrogation of both the former Principal of RG Kar Medical College, Dr Sandip Ghosh, and Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal.

"CBI must act fairly. Custodial interrogation of Ex-Principal and Police Commissioner is a must to know who and why floated suicide story. Why wall of hall demolished, who patronised Roy to be so powerful, Why sniffer dog used after 3 days. 100s of such questions. Make them speak," Ray posted.

The former principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Dr Sandip Ghosh, was quizzed on Saturday by CBI officials for the second consecutive day and has been summoned for questioning on Sunday too.

The questioning, which lasted for several hours, focused on his actions and responses on the night of the incident.

The CBI is corroborating Dr Ghosh's account with testimonies from other medical staff and police officers who were on duty that night. He resigned two days after the discovery of the doctor's body on August 9.

The CBI is investigating around 40 individuals, including doctors, interns, and police officers. The agency has already questioned over 20 people, and forensic teams have been deployed to collect and analyse evidence from multiple locations, including the RG Kar hospital and the residence of the prime accused, Sanjay Roy, a civic volunteer of Kolkata Police.

(Images by Avishek Mitra/IBNS)