West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee
Credit: PTI Photo
Kolkata: The Kolkata Police arrested a 23-year-old woman for allegedly calling for the assassination of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on a social media platform as well as revealing the identity of the postgraduate trainee doctor, who was recently raped and murdered at a hospital run by the state government.
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Police arrested the woman – a student of a college at Bhowanipore in South Kolkata – after receiving a complaint about her posts on a social media platform.
While the rape and murder of the young doctor at the R G Kar Medical College and Hospital triggered outrage against Mamata Banerjee’s government and the ruling Trinamool Congress, the woman allegedly suggested that the state’s Chief Minister be assassinated like the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had been in 1984.
Sagarika Ghose, a TMC member of the Rajya Sabha, on Saturday, posted on X a screenshot of the woman’s message on Instagram, drawing the attention of the law-enforcing agencies.
A senior Kolkata Police official said that the woman had also been arrested because she had revealed the identity of the victim.
Anyone who prints or publishes the name or any information that could reveal the identity of a victim of offences like rape or sexual assault could be punished with imprisonment for up to two years, along with a fine, according to Section 72 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which replaced the Indian Penal Code on July 1.
The Calcutta High Court on Friday asked journalists and social media users to refrain from circulating the name, photographs, or other details revealing the identity of the deceased doctor.