Kolkata Police's Social Media Vigilance Draws BJP Riposte In New Flashpoint Over Doctor's Rape-Murder

On August 15, the day after a mob went on the rampage at West Bengal’s RG Kar Hospital, Kolkata Police stepped into a tumultuous social media battle ground rife with anger over the rape and murder of a 31-year-old doctor, politics over the heinous crime, and unfounded allegations spreading like wildfire via both text and video messages.

Kolkata Police did not mince words even as allegations of cover-up swirled. Don’t spread unverified news or legal action will be taken against spreading rumours, they said on their X account, reacting to claims that mobs attacked the scene of crime at RG Kar in a brazen act of vandalism during a midnight protest. It turned out the out-patient department and the emergency wing of the hospital faced the wrath of the vandals, and not the seminar hall. The woman’s semi-nude body was found on the fourth-floor seminar room on August 9.

But that did not stem the surge of social media posts on the doctor’s murder. And the state’s opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has demanded Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s resignation over the crime, has been quick to latch on to the opportunity amidst massive protests, amplifying some of the voices of dissent.

In one such instance, the BJP’s information and technology department chief Amit Malviya on Friday accused the Kolkata Police of reaching the home of a student doctor. He said the police “threatened her for posting information and videos related to the RG Kar Medical College & Hospital, and forced her to issue an apology”.

“This kind of intimidation of citizens, who are seeking justice for the rape and murder victim of RG Kar, is completely uncalled for,” he posted on X, asking CM Banerjee not to “kill the free enterprise and spirit of inquiry in our Youth”.

The account Malviya was referring to belongs to a person who identifies herself as an MBBS student. In a series of X posts, she narrated her purported story: how she was asked to delete her post and instructed not to share information without verification. News18 could not independently verify the claim or the nature of the post she had shared. While her X thread made a mention to the state-wide midnight protests branded as “Reclaim the Night”, there was no reference to RG Kar — though she said in one of her posts that she was acting “completely out of the sake of justice for a fellow doctor”.

In subsequent posts, she apologised if she had “instigated/angered/mislead anyone with any information I have shared”, and said that she was taking a break from X. There was no immediate reaction of the Kolkata Police.

In another instance, Malviya’s post said: “Kolkata Police and their midnight shenanigans don’t seem to end. Directing people to delete posts at 1.37 am. Hilarious!” This time, his post accompanied a notice shared by the cyber crime department of the police late Thursday night. The notice tagged a person and asked him to take down a certain post for its “offensive, malicious and inciting” content.

Faced with the BJP’s protests, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), too, has taken to social media to turn the tables. As early as Friday, TMC parliamentarian Mahua Moitra released a video on X where she condemned the crime, reiterated the state government had taken prompt action, refuted allegations of cover-up by the state machinery, and took a veiled dig at the BJP. Under pressure, CM Banerjee, too, has blamed “Baam and Ram (read the Left and the BJP)” for politicising the issue and fomenting trouble

The young doctor’s rape-murder at her workplace has triggered nationwide outrage, brought the functioning of RG Kar Hospital under scrutiny, led to the ouster of its principal, and prompted a court hearing that handed over the probe to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The police have arrested one person in connection with the case, even though there have been speculations that more people could have been involved.

“We have never said that there is only one person [accused]. We have said that we are waiting for scientific evidence and it takes time. Just based on rumours, I can’t arrest a young PG student, it’s against my conscience,” Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal has said, addressing the chatter of the involvement of multiple people.