E-Paper
Kolkata murder case: 3 Bengal schools get Mamata govt notice for students attending anti-rape protest
Three state-aided schools – Baluhati High School, Baluhati Girls' High School and Bantra Rajlakshmi Girls' School in Howrah district – were served the notices.
Kolkata rape-murder case: The West Bengal school education department on Saturday issued show-cause notices to three schools “for involving students in a rally” during school hours amid ongoing protests over the rape and murder of a woman doctor at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
According to news agency PTI, three state-aided schools – Baluhati High School, Baluhati Girls' High School, and Bantra Rajlakshmi Girls' School, all located in Howrah district – were served the notices on Friday and have been instructed to provide an explanation within 24 hours.
“Students cannot take part in such a rally, particularly on weekdays during classes. We learnt that some teachers and other school staffers took the students to the rally,” PTI quoted a school education department official.
He said that, along with students, several teachers and non-teaching staff had participated in a joint rally organised by the schools on Thursday, which was in “violation of all rules and regulations.”
The official explained that these actions were prompted by reports that students from higher classes were being drawn into political rallies and blockades across the state, all demanding justice for the woman doctor.
However, the notices did not directly reference this specific incident.
Protests over rape and murder of woman doctor in Kolkata
Widespread protests broke out across India, including in West Bengal, following the rape and murder of a 31-year-old trainee doctor at a state-run hospital in Kolkata on August 9. Many took to the streets, organising rallies to demand justice for the victim and calling on the government to ensure the safety of doctors working in public hospitals.
After 11 days of demonstrations, resident doctors at Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital ended their strike on Thursday in response to an appeal from the Supreme Court of India.
During the strike, non-essential services such as outpatient departments (OPDs), non-emergency surgeries, and laboratory work were reduced by up to 90%, causing significant inconvenience to patients. Similar disruptions were observed in other public hospitals.
In response to doctors' safety concerns, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare directed government hospitals to conduct security audits to assess and address the specific security needs of each facility. On Wednesday, AIIMS-Delhi announced that it has begun a collaborative internal security audit to evaluate and enhance safety measures across its campus.
(With inputs from ANI, PTI)
