Nearly a year after the brutal rape and murder of a 26-year-old postgraduate trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9, 2024, her parents continue their anguished quest for justice, expressing deep distrust in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Kolkata Police. The young doctor’s body, found in a locked seminar room, bore signs of extreme violence, sparking nationwide protests and outrage over women’s safety in India.

The victim’s father, speaking to PTI, accused the CBI of being “compromised” and merely echoing the initial Kolkata Police findings. “We have lost all faith in the police and the CBI,” he said, alleging a larger conspiracy involving multiple perpetrators. Sanjay Roy, a civic volunteer, was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment on January 20, 2025, but the family insists he did not act alone. “She was a strong girl. There’s no way one man could have done this in a secure hospital,” the mother stated, pointing to early cover-ups and a rushed cremation that raised suspicions of evidence tampering.

Two others, former principal Sandip Ghosh and Tala police station officer Abhijit Mondal, were arrested for misleading the probe but were granted bail after the CBI failed to file a charge sheet within 90 days. The parents criticized this lapse, with the father noting, “They claim they are probing a ‘larger conspiracy,’ but we doubt they will ever file a supplementary charge sheet.” The Supreme Court’s concerns about the case’s handling remain unanswered, they added.

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The family’s grief is compounded by their daughter’s unfulfilled dreams of serving the poor. “Her stethoscope, thesis notes, and medals lie locked in a trunk,” the father said, lamenting her ambition to open a clinic for the underprivileged. They also criticized the Trinamool Congress government, citing recurring incidents like the Kasba Law College gang rape case as evidence of systemic failure. “Even after the outcry, nothing has changed,” the father said.

Public protests have waned, and political attention has faded, but the parents remain resolute. “The state used our daughter’s death as a talking point,” the father said, vowing that the people’s movement will rise again. Two events are planned for the incident’s first anniversary on August 9: a march to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Kalighat residence and a Raksha Bandhan observance by Abhaya Mancha. A Reclaim the Night march is scheduled for August 14 across Kolkata.

For the parents, justice means “truth, naming everyone involved directly or indirectly, and jail, not bail.” They place their hope in the judiciary, with the father stating, “We are confident it won’t let us down.” As they await answers, their fight continues to honor their daughter’s memory and restore her dignity.

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