Kolkata murder victim’s 'cry of the hour' statue unveiled at RG Kar; receives backlash
Junior doctors at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, where a trainee doctor was brutally raped and murdered, have unveiled a statue in memory of the 31-year-old victim.
PTC News Desk: Junior doctors at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, where a trainee doctor was brutally raped and murdered, have unveiled a statue in memory of the 31-year-old victim.
The 'Cry of the Hour' sculpture, created by famous artist Asit Sain, is meant to reflect the victim's pain and trauma. The work of art, which is made of fibreglass, represents a bust of a woman screaming. The inscription on the pedestal indicates that the statue depicts 'Abhaya', who suffered from "hellish brutality" on August 9 at RG Kar.
"It is an emotional moment for us," a junior doctor says. "She was a colleague. We've been fighting for her. She is in our hearts, but this installation will ensure that she is never forgotten." "This statue is not of the victim, but of her pain, the torture she endured, and the ongoing protests," another junior doctor said.
However, many people on social media have criticised the trainee doctor's statue installation, calling it "disrespectful" and "disturbing".
"Want her statue to be erected? Do it with anything other than it being her agonised face or whatever. Whatever the f*** this is, is highly disturbing," a user said, while another wrote, "Speechless at how insensitive this is. To have one’s pain immortalised, to only be known for being sexually violated. I hope this disgusting statue is destroyed."
"The doctors of this country are so tone-deaf. Why would you ever create a statue like this based on a rape victim," a third person said.