Kolkata is the epicentre of the nationwide protests that have erupted after the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Hospital. The protests that have been going on since the incident on August 9 have not stopped yet, rather their scope and anger among the people is constantly increasing. First the protests of doctors across the country including Kolkata, then the protests of student organizations in this matter have given the shape of a movement to the anger of the people, and in the last 20 days, some such faces have emerged in this movement, who have become poster boys for these protests.
Among these poster boys, five names are being taken in particular. First is Sayan Lahiri, second is Shubhankar Haldar, third is Palash Ghosh, fourth is Balram Ghosh and fifth is Akhtar Ali. These five are the personalities who have given the form of protest to the public’s anger after this dreadful incident.
Sayan Lahiri: Leader of the Nabanna campaign
The Nabanna campaign was launched in West Bengal last Tuesday. Sayan Lahiri was behind this campaign. Lahiri is said to be the organizer of this campaign. He is associated with the West Bengal Student Society. The student organization leading the movement says that their campaign is not political. However, the ruling party Trinamool Congress has said that Sayan Lahiri is actively associated with BJP and RSS.
The police had also raised doubts about Sayan’s political identity. The police claimed that Sayan had gone to a five star hotel for a secret meeting with a political leader. Sayan Lahiri is pursuing MBA from MAKAUT and is a resident of Shree Colony in Jadhavpur. He has studied political science from Ashutosh College. Sayan has denied any association with any political wing.
Shubhankar Haldar: Associated with Nabanna campaign
Another name that emerged in the Nabanna campaign on Tuesday was Shubhankar Haldar. Shubhankar is associated with the ‘Paschim Banga Chhatra Samaj’ organization. This is a new and unregistered organization. Shubhankar is a student of Kalyani University. He is doing B.Ed from here and is a resident of Nabadwip.
Palash Ghosh Howrah resident Palash Ghosh is a student of Narasimha Dutt University. He is pursuing BA (Hons) in Bengali literature from here. Palash is associated with ‘Paschim Banga Chhatra Samaj’ to get justice for the victim doctor and he has also denied being associated with any political organization.
Baba Balaram Bose: Viral video from Nabanna protest
The biggest protest boy who has emerged in the Nabanna protest is Balram Bose, whose video of facing the water cannon with the tricolour in his hand is going viral. Balram Bose says, “This movement was organised by students but it was said that one person from every house should participate in it. There are women in my house too. So we should be concerned about their safety. If the society remains healthy and safe, then women will be respected.
Where women are not respected, there are no gods and goddesses. When I took part in the movement, I believed that we have to make our voices heard at Nabanna (the temporary state secretariat of the West Bengal government). I am a Sanatani, a devotee of Lord Shiva… I do not want any political party to influence or distract this movement. We only want justice and nothing else,” he said.
Akhtar Ali, former deputy superintendent of RG Kar Medical College
If we look at this entire case from the beginning, Akhtar Ali has emerged as the biggest face of the protest. He is the former Deputy Superintendent of RG Kar Medical College and because of the kind of revelations he made and exposed the real truth of RG Kar Hospital, Dr. Sandeep Ghosh came under suspicion and since then he has been continuously getting into trouble.
Akhtar Ali had claimed that Sandeep Ghosh was involved in many illegal activities including selling unclaimed bodies. He also alleged that Ghosh was involved in smuggling of biomedical waste and medical equipment to Bangladesh. Akhtar Ali was posted at RG Kar Hospital till 2023. He said that a complaint was also made regarding this before the State Vigilance Commission. But despite being found guilty in the investigation, no action was taken against the former principal.
Akhtar Ali claimed that he had also sent an inquiry report against Dr. Sandeep Ghosh to the state health department, but after this he was transferred from the hospital by doing RG. He said, ‘The day I submitted the inquiry report, I was transferred. The other two members of the inquiry committee were also transferred. I did whatever I could to save the students from this man, but I failed.’
It has come to light that Dr. Akhtar Ali had also filed a complaint against another hospital officer Afsar Ali in the year 2023. Afsar Ali Khan was accused of selling medical waste to outsiders.
Source (PTI) (NDTV) (HINDUSTANTIMES)