RG Kar protest face hails HC judgment, says it vindicates claim on 'politically motivated' transfers
Kolkata (PTI): Aniket Mahato, one of the prominent faces of a protest movement over the rape-murder of a postgraduate trainee at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital here, welcomed Calcutta High Court's direction to the West Bengal government to engage him at the same medical establishment as a senior resident in the Anaesthesiology Department.
Setting aside Mahato's deployment at Raiganj Medical College and Hospital as per a notification of May 27, 2025 as a senior resident, the court of Justice Biswajit Basu on Wednesday directed the state to engage him at R G Kar Medical College and Hospital in the Department of Anaesthesiology with immediate effect.
Mahato, while addressing a press conference, said that the judgment vindicated their claim that the decision to transfer him was "politically motivated".
"The high court rightly raised the issue as to why two people out of 871 had been picked up for transfer. Why were the SOPs violated? We had earlier pointed out that there was a lack of transparency, but the high-handed, arrogant administration was transgressing all limits in taking such a decision," he said.
Holding that the decision of the state to deploy Mahato at Raiganj Medical College and Hospital in Uttar Dinajpur district violates the principle of reasonableness, Justice Basu said that the state has committed a serious wrong, which demands intervention.
A prayer by the state's lawyer for a stay of operation of the order till October 7 for moving an appeal against the judgment was refused by Justice Basu.
Mahato said they had been waiting for four months, and the truth finally prevailed on Wednesday.
He said it was not only his win, but of all those who "fought the state administration after being wronged".
To another question, he alleged that police harassment still continues, but he would not be scared.
The lawyer for Mahato, who had moved the high court challenging the state's decision to post him in Raiganj, claimed that the petitioner and two other doctors were prominent faces of the R G Kar movement and have faced police harassment for their role.
It was claimed that in contravention of the provisions of an SOP formulated by the state for deployment of senior residents on the basis of merit, the department has "targeted them" out of a total of 871 doctors in the list and placed them in hospitals far away from the medical institutions opted by them at the time of counselling as "punishment posting".
Mahato had opted for one of the four vacancies at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in the Department of Anaesthesiology, but the department engaged a lesser meritorious candidate for reasons best known to it, Mahato's lawyer stated.
The body of the on-duty post-graduate trainee doctor, who was raped and murdered, was found in the seminar room of the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9, 2024, leading to countrywide protests.
One person, Sanjay Roy, was sentenced to imprisonment for life till the end of his natural life by the Sealdah sessions court after having been found guilty of the rape and murder of the doctor.
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Putin meets Iran's FM Araghchi, says Russia ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia
Moscow (PTI): Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hailed the Iranian people for fighting bravely and heroically for their sovereignty and said Moscow is ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia as soon as possible.
Araghchi, who held talks with Omani and Pakistani leadership before arriving in Russia, met Putin in St. Petersburg and thanked him for supporting Iran, state-owned TASS news agency reported.
"Russia is ready to do everything in its power to ensure that peace in the Middle East is achieved as soon as possible," Putin said during his meeting with Araghchi, which was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Revealing that he received a message from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei last week, Putin asked Araghchi to convey his "gratitude for this message and best wishes for his health and well-being."
He praised the Iranian people for fighting "bravely and heroically" for their sovereignty, Iran's state-run PRESS TV reported.
"We really hope that, based on the courage and desire for independence, the Iranian people, under the guidance of the new leader, will weather this difficult period of trials and peace will come,” Putin said.
He also stressed that Russia “intends to maintain” its strategic relations with Iran.
Araghchi said that the world witnessed Iran’s strength in countering the US during the recent war, and that the Islamic Republic is a "stable and powerful establishment."
"With their courage, the Iranian people succeeded in resisting the US aggression and will be able to endure it,” he said.
He said that it became clear that Iran has “great friends and allies” like Russia, and conveyed “warmest greetings” from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian to the Russian leader.
Araghchi said relations between Moscow and Tehran represent a “strategic partnership at the highest level” and will continue to develop "regardless of circumstances."
"We are grateful to you for the solid and strong positions in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the talks between President Putin and the Iranian Foreign Minister were "useful and constructive."
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said that Russia is "ready to provide any good offices, any mediation services that are acceptable to the parties."
"We will be ready to do everything so that ultimately peace ensues, guaranteed peace, and that there is no return to hostilities," Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS.
He was asked how Moscow can assist in future negotiations on the Iranian settlement.
Araghchi arrived in Russia after his whirlwind trip to Islamabad, which, according to him, was “very productive” and involved “good consultations" with Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, amid uncertainty over the second round of peace talks to resolve the war in West Asia.
"We held good consultations with our friends in Pakistan. The trip was successful. We assessed the outcome of our recent (meetings) and discussed in what direction and under what conditions talks can move on,” Araghchi said in a video posted on his Telegram channel upon his arrival in St Petersburg.
Referring to the second round of talks between the US and Iran to resolve the conflict in West Asia, Araghchi said: "Developments have taken place in the negotiations."
"Despite some progress in earlier rounds, the talks failed to reach their objectives due to the Americans' approach, the excessive demands they made, and the wrong approaches they adopted. Therefore, it was necessary to consult with our friends in Pakistan to review the latest situation,” Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
He said that the trip to Pakistan was a good opportunity to review developments related to the US-Israeli war against Iran, expressing confidence that “these consultations and coordination between the two countries will be highly significant.”
Araghchi arrived at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport early Monday, where he was welcomed by Russian officials and Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, the report said.
The first round of peace talks between Iran and the US, held on April 11 and 12, failed to bring the desired result for the parties to the conflict.
The Iranian minister arrived in Islamabad for the second time on Sunday after a short visit to Oman, where he held talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on security in the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts to end the Iran-US conflict.
After Araghchi left Pakistan for Oman on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would no longer be going to Islamabad for talks with Iran, contending that Washington held all the cards on the matter.
Trump on Sunday reiterated that the US and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitely to give Tehran more time to prepare a unified proposal to end the war, just hours before the truce was set to expire.
The war began when the US and Israel jointly attacked Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top commanders. The retaliation by the Islamic Republic extended the war to the entire Gulf region.
