HC seeks CBI report on nasty social media posts on RG Kar hospital rape-murder victim
Kolkata (PTI): The Calcutta High Court on Thursday directed the CBI to file a report by September 18 on detestable posts being made on social media regarding the rape-murder victim of R G Kar Medical College and Hospital.
The court noted that nasty comments, which are far from being acceptable to any member of the society, have been made with the photograph of the victim as found in the copies of the offending posts provided by the petitioner.
The body of the on-duty trainee doctor was found in the seminar room of the state-run hospital on August 9, triggering nationwide outrage. The CBI is investigating the case from the second week of August on an order of the high court.
The petitioner prayed in the PIL that the CBI be directed to investigate the cyber offences in connection with the "unfortunate and brutal incident."
The court asked the Additional Solicitor General Asok Kumar Chakrabarti, representing the central agency, whether it could find a way to block these types of posts.
The division bench, presided by Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam, directed the joint director, CBI, Kolkata, to look into the grievance expressed by the petitioner with regard to the issue of such abominable social media posts.
The bench, also comprising Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya, directed the CBI joint director or any other competent officer to file a report in this regard by September 18, when the PIL will come up for hearing again along with other petitions relating to the August 9 rape-murder of the doctor.
After the order was dictated, Chakrabarti submitted before the court that the CBI does not have any separate wing to investigate such cyber crimes.
Maintaining that the state police has a special unit to monitor such matters, he prayed that the West Bengal government's cyber crime branch be also directed to file a separate report.
The court said that it would consider the prayer on the next date of hearing.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
