Wake up India: Mamata's letter to Modi tries to highlight rapes elsewhere

'90 cases of rapes occur daily throughout the country', says the West Bengal Chief Minister to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in light of the Kolkata rape and murder at RG Kar Medical College

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee penned an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday night, calling for urgent and stringent action against the rising incidence of rape cases across India. The letter comes in the wake of the rape and murder of a junior doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College, an incident that has ignited widespread outrage and protests across the country.

In her letter, Banerjee highlighted the alarming frequency of rape cases, citing data that indicates nearly 90 such cases occur daily across India. She expressed concern over the impact of these crimes on society’s conscience and emphasised the need for a collective effort to ensure women’s safety and security.

Banerjee’s letter reads: “It is horrifying to see that almost 90 cases of rapes occur daily throughout the country. This shakes the confidence and conscience of the society and the nation. It is our bounden duty to put an end to it so that women feel safe and secure.”

The chief ,minister called for the introduction of stringent central legislation that would prescribe exemplary punishments for perpetrators of such heinous crimes. She also suggested the establishment of Fast Track Special Courts to ensure speedy trials, proposing that trials in rape cases be completed within 15 days to deliver quick justice.

‘900 rapes in last 10 days’: Abhishek Banerjee

The call for action was echoed by Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader and Banerjee’s nephew, Abhishek Banerjee, who took to social media to further emphasise the urgency of the situation.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Abhishek Banerjee pointed out the shocking statistic that 900 rapes occurred across India in the ten days following the RG Kar Medical College incident, during which people were protesting for justice.

Abhishek Banerjee wrote, “With 90 RAPES REPORTED DAILY, 4 EVERY HOUR, AND 1 EVERY 15 MINUTES – the urgency for decisive action is clear. We need strong laws that mandate trials and convictions within 50 days, followed by the severest punishments, not just empty promises.”

Business Standard was not able to verify the statistics shared by both political leaders. However, National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data shows that around 31,000 rapes were reported in India in 2022. This would be around 85 rapes a day.

Kolkata rape and murder

The incident at RG Kar Medical College on August 9, 2024, where a trainee doctor was brutally raped and murdered, has left the nation in shock. The young doctor’s body was discovered in a seminar room on the college campus in a semi-nude state, with visible injuries and signs of foul play. Disturbingly, despite the evident trauma, the incident was initially misclassified as a suicide, raising concerns of a cover-up by the hospital authorities.

It was only after the victim’s parents insisted on a proper investigation, citing the severe injuries on their daughter's body, that the case was re-examined. The police subsequently arrested Sanjay Roy, a civic volunteer with the Kolkata Police disaster management force, in connection with the crime.

The case has sparked a nationwide demand for accountability of authorities, stronger laws and faster judicial processes to combat the rising tide of sexual violence against women in India.