Justice for RG Kar rape-murder victim: slogans reverberated the air at the stroke of midnight on Sunday across Kolkata and many other cities and towns in West Bengal.
Protesters of both sexes, young and old took to the streets, formed human chains, wrote graffiti on the roads, held burning torches and sang the national anthem as many waved the tricolour - the only flag allowed in the apolitical rallies across the state by the civil society, to register their protest against the murder of the young doctor at R G Kar Medical College and Hospital a month ago on August 9.
With the Supreme Court scheduled to hear the suo motu case related to the crime on Monday, many participants in the third instance of 'Reclaim the night' in the state said they were hopeful that justice would be delivered by the apex court.
While some identified the victim doctor as 'Tilottama', many others called her 'Abhaya', but all were united in their demand for justice for her.
Demonstrations over the August 9 incident are not only taking place in every nook and corner of Kolkata, rally participants lit their mobile phone flashlights, many of them attired in black outfits.
It was an unprecedented show of solidarity in a singular demand for justice that the members came out onto the streets in thousands in many places in Kolkata and suburbs and also in cities like Siliguri, Durgapur, Kharagpur, and district towns of Balurghat, Purulia, Cooch Behar, among other small towns and hamlets.
A human chain of about 14 km was in place from Shyambazar in north Kolkata to Sodepur in the suburbs.
The chorus for justice resonated from the voices of people hailing from all walks of life -- from students and teachers, white-collar job holders such as IT professionals to rickshaw pullers.
Supporters of arch-foes East Bengal, Mohun Bagan and Mohammedan Sporting, came together on the day a derby match between the first two clubs was cancelled on August 18 with the police administration apprehending protests at the Salt Lake stadium venue over the rape-murder of the doctor, were on streets in Kolkata, saying "our only demand is justice for R G Kar victim".
As less than a month was remaining for Durga Puja, which is the biggest festival in West Bengal, many referred to her as the daughter of Goddess 'Durga', who was believed to be the incarnation of 'Shakti' or power.
The song 'We shall overcome' and its Hindi and Bengali translations 'Hum honge kamyab' and 'Amra korbo joy' respectively, were sung at different places in the metropolis - from Garia and Jadavpur in the south to Shyambazar near R G Kar Hospital in the north.
The mother of the post-graduate trainee demanded the arrest of all culprits in the case and said she had one child and now all the protesting medics were her children.
During the day, around 4,000 former students of over 40 schools-a large number of them women-walked a distance of two kilometres in south Kolkata along Rash Behari Avenue demanding justice for the victim.
The protesters also took out a procession along Rabindra Sarani to Shyambazar five-point crossing, with a girl dressed as Goddess Durga leading the procession from the potters' hub of Kumartuli in north Kolkata.
Singing Arijit Sing's song 'Aar kabe' (how long) in solidarity with sexually violated women, the protesters held aloft placards demanding speedy investigation and justice in the R G Kar rape-murder incident.
Sculptor Sanatan Dinda and singer Lagnajita were among those who participated in the procession.
About 100 people with their hand-pulled rickshaws also rallied from Hedua Park to College Square in north Kolkata.
"We are demanding justice for Abhaya - she is our daughter, too," said Rameshwar Shaw, a rickshaw puller who is originally from Darbhanga in Bihar.
Hundreds of junior doctors of the state-run NRS Hospital took out a rally from Sealdah to Esplanade in the heart of the city.
Parents of the murdered doctor were present at the Esplanade venue where the rally culminated.
The victim's mother said, "Whenever I think about the torment, the pain experienced by my daughter on that night, I shudder. She had dreams to serve the society, Now, all these protesters are my children." Hundreds of junior doctors of R G Kar Hospital — the epicentre of the movement since August 10 — formed a human chain at 5 pm and sang the national anthem holding the tri-colour.
At Hazra crossing, not far away from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's Kalighat residence in south Kolkata, several members of the Bengali entertainment industry sat on a dharna demanding justice for the deceased medic.
After the success of the first such gathering on August 14, the second edition of "Reclaim the night" was organised on September 4.
Read also| RG Kar Protest: 'Reclaim the Night' Event Scheduled for September 8 in Bengal
Read also| RG Kar Scam Case: SC Rejects Sandip Ghosh's Plea to Block CBI Investigation
