Kolkata rage spills over at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park

The winds of anger and anguish singed Shivaji Park on Sunday late morning as citizens medicos and those allied with the medical profession gathered for a rally for justice in the Kolkata doctor rapemurder case News about the death that has outraged a nation and beyond with protests have been held overseas too is taking new and sinister turns daily The protest took off yesterday at noon with participants circling the parkrsquos inner periphery banners aloft fists pumping the airShivaji Park resident Shashikant Adhav said ldquoAll we hear is that an investigation is ongoing Bogus placatory statements We want to hear that punishment is meted out one severe enough to ensure justice and prove a massive deterrentrdquo Jitendra Singh also seated on the lsquokattarsquo of the Shivaji Park as it is known locally asked ldquoWe need to talk much more about the parentsrsquo suffering Really amplify thatrdquoWhistleblower theorySome were there to show support for the victim and family others to make statements slam the system and ask questions ldquoIt is a question of humanityrdquo said Sumanto Banerjee from Vile Parle adding ldquoThese are our sistersrdquo There were a number of rallyists who believed in the theory that the victim was assaulted because she was expected to disclose some ldquofraudrdquo within the hospital they claimed As it happens with prospective whistleblowers she was done away with to stop that expose Voices must be heard said rally participants at Shivaji Park PicShadab KhanNo stoppingSo great was the anger and indignation that many like Jennifer DrsquoSouza believed ldquoIn so many of these cases you have jail and bail It drags on for years Is there any stopping to the assaults on women There has been a case in Mumbai yesterday Manipurhellip the list goes onrdquoArchana Soparkar from Sion said ldquoNobody should be treated like this There are constant questions about the clothes a woman is wearing or why she was somewhere and it brings us to tears Today people are wary of opening a newspaper not knowing what atrocity they will read aboutrdquoPoster powerThere were many men participating in the protest too underlining that this is not a gender issue Several posters read lsquoShe saved lives Who protected herrsquo and lsquoNo more candles to burn Burn the rapistrsquo A lady at the forefront of the group shouted ldquoWe want heads to roll Why was the cremation allowed in 12 to 14 hours Vandalism destroyed evidence too Heads They need to rollrdquo she said as more people joined inWhat safetyldquoThis is a citizenrsquos movement where we are asking for more security for all in the profession Today we have 60 per cent of students who are female studying to become doctors Do they have facilities Separate duty rooms Toilets These are absent in many facilities in spite of the fact that they are doing 24hour duties If this goes on we will not see a good quality of doctors coming through the system Protection for doctors is a mustrdquo said Dr Shivkumar Utture vicepresident the National Indian Medical Association Utture and Dr Vijay Chinchade secretary Mahim Dharavi Medical Practitioners Association MDMPA present at the site concurred that today ldquoParents of girls are urging their daughters not to opt for the medical professionrdquo A lady said ldquoI have doctors in my family who are telling their children to steer clear of medicine that is the tragic and bitter realityrdquoSafety auditProtester Varsha P Tawde said ldquoEvery workplace must have a safety audit done There is corruption from the top to the bottom we need to weed it outrdquo There was Dr Anshu Kulkarni Madhuri Gadgil and Pratibha Girish in the rally Kulkarni said this boiled down to ldquopower dynamicsrdquo They stressed this was not a ldquowomenrsquos issuerdquo and pointed out ldquoThis is a global issue Rallies have taken place in New York The whole world is affected Our blood is boiling Note that reports state her pelvic bones were broken there was glass in her eye shocking brutality and the perpetrator needs to be torturedrdquoAs the rally escalated and voices were raised to a crescendo most present said ldquoThe perpetrator must be tortured and face the same pain the victim has death by hanging will be too easy for him keep him alive and let him experience similar brutalityrdquo