'Abhaya Di Was Killed Ruthlessly'

'Abhaya Di was one of the best seniors we could have.'
'She secured a seat in chest medicine which is huge in India, where only 10-20 seats are available for the general category.'
'Such a talent was destroyed ruthlessly.'

IMAGE: Junior doctors under the banner of the West Bengal Junior Doctors Front protest against the sexual assault and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor of the R G Kar Hospital in Kolkata, September 13, 2024. Photograph: ANI Photo

A lady who had come to support the doctors protesting the rape and killing of a junior doctor at the R G Kar Medical College in Kolkata, raised her hand to touch the heads of the three final year medical students, blessing them as she prepared to leave the site of the protest in Salt Lake.

The protesting doctors have won great sympathy from the citizens of the city.

Kobid Basu, a final year medical student, was one of the group. He knew the deceased who has come to be known as 'Abhaya'.

"It is frightening that such a terrifying crime had happened in our college," Kobid says as medical students from the city staged one of the most relentless student movements in recent times for justice for 'Abhaya' and to remedy the deep-rooted wrongs in state-run hospitals.

IMAGE: A protest against Abhijit Mondal, the officer in charge of the Tala police station, outside the CBI office for allegedly tampering with the evidence and delay in filing an FIR in the R G Kar Medical College rape-murder case. Photograph: ANI Photo

The young student and his friends spoke to Rediff.com's Archana Masih about what happened on the day of the crime, the culture of threat in medical colleges and their faith in the justice system.

Watch: What happened on the day of crime

'Her mother begged to see her daughter's face, but police refused'

All Videos: Archana Masih/Rediff.com

Watch: 'Abhaya Di was from our college and had worked very hard'

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com