Candlelight Vigil – Remembering the Victim of Kolkata Rape/Murder

Over 150 people attended a Candlelight Vigil & Condolence Meeting held by the Indian Workers Association (GB) and Kohinoor Radio 97.3fm at the Conference Hall, 308 St Saviour Road, Leicester, on Saturday evening, following the rape and murder in Kolkata, India of a 31-year-old postgraduate doctor on duty inside the hospital on 9th August 2024 in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. The meeting started with one minute’s silence being observed in respect of the victim.

We strongly condemn the recent rape-murder in India; following her death on 9th August 2024 millions have lit candles and held prayer meetings all over the world and marched through various cities and towns, including Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai, and Goa.

We express our grief and demand stronger protection for women in India so this will not happen to any women again.  In the past, they used to experience this during everyday life in India,

An average of nearly 90 rapes a day were reported in India in 2022, according to data from India’s National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).

The true figure is likely to be much higher, as many such crimes go unreported due to fear of reprisal, prevailing stigmas around victims and a lack of faith in police investigations.

Political parties in India are not sincere in addressing the safety issue of women, similar to when the women wrestlers protested in Delhi, it is not being addressed.

West Bengal tops the list with 25 sitting MPs and MLAs facing charges related to crimes against women, followed by Andhra Pradesh with 21 and Odisha with 17, according to the report.

However, we condemned all these inhuman, brutal attacks on Women. And our world community wants more decisive action to protect women in India and other countries. We should all work together to make appropriate changes. It would be a true homage to her memory and those who have suffered in the past.

We are sending a delegation to India to meet with various political party leaders to express the concerns of our UK communities and ask for appropriate changes in the law and social stability to protect women.

Sital Singh Gill, General Secretary of the IWA (GB) who organised the meeting said, “we express our deepest condolences to the family of this girl and will be leading a delegation to India of senior community leaders to meet with Indian Government officials and leaders of various political parties.  The delegation will directly raise the issue of women’s human rights and will robustly lobby to ensure that the case of the young Indian student is given the prominence it deserves.  The delegation will be seeking concrete assurances from Indian politicians that they will be introducing long-term changes through policies which are required to address issues that the murder has raised, and other widespread abuses including sexual assault of women in police custody and by those who stand for public office.

Cllr Santokh Singh Atwal commended the Indian Workers Association for holding the meeting at a very important time and wholeheartedly supported the concerns that were expressed by those attending.

Former Assistant Mayor Rita Patel said, “the role of Police and Government are central in any future transformation of the legislation governing gender based offences, as well as the application of the law and community involvement to ensure Police accountability.”

Shingara Singh, Manager of Kohinoor Radio, said today’s meeting was fully packed and therefore you could tell how our UK community is furious about this brutal rape and murder.

Dilbagh Singh Gill, National Organiser of the Indian Workers Association (G.B), said , our organization always stands for injustice, and we will carry on our campaign against all kind of crimes against women.

Doggy Johnson, Regional President of Food & Allied Workers Union, said, The rape and murder of a doctor in India is fuelling outrage and public protests about violence against women have not achieved much. The stats hugely understates how common sexual violence is in the country and most incidents are never reported.

There were valuable contributions from other speakers including  Harbans Kaur , Manjinder Kaur , Bhajan Kaur,  Partap Jethwa, Sukhdev Singh Bansal, Dr Sujjan Singh, Rajwant Singh Kang,  and Mohinder Pal Singh Sikh Community Leader who praised the soul of the young girl and also gave valuable local statistical facts.

The meeting agreed that a petition would be sent to the Indian Prime Minister, Narinder Modi highlighting numerous concerns of the Leicester based Indian community.