Kolkata rape-murder case: YouTuber Dhruv Rathee under fire for his social media post; here’s why

Kolkata rape-murder case: YouTuber and Influencer Dhruv Rathee faced criticism after disclosing the name of the victim in the case involving the raped and murdered RG Kar Hospital doctor.

On August 9, a post-graduate trainee doctor was found dead in the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. The victim's family has alleged that she was raped and murdered. This incident has triggered a nationwide protest by doctors and medical fraternities.

Coming back to Rathee, earlier, he had posted a tweet saying, "Justice For Nirbhaya 2" on X. He later deleted the tweet, prompting criticism on social media and allegations were made that he might be afraid of the West Bengal government.

To clarify his stance, he stated, “Because some people pointed out that it was insensitive to call (name hidden) as Nirbhaya2. I thought over it and felt that they were right.”

However, in another tweet, he went and revealed the name of the victim in a hashtag. In the tweet, he wrote, “The rape-murder case in West Bengal is heartbreaking. It exposes the inhumane working conditions for doctors, the lack of their safety and the miserable state of law and order in West Bengal. Hope CBI does a fast-track trial and gets justice (sic) #JusticeFor(name hidden).”

Though users on X praised him for raising the issue, an Advocate-on-Record at the Supreme Court of India, Prashant Umrao criticised Rathee. He argued that disclosing the victim’s name is inappropriate when the victim is deceased or unable to consent, even with family authorisation. He wrote, “When the Rape victim is dead or of unsound mind the name of the victim or her identity should not be disclosed even under the authorisation of the next of the kin.”

Earlier, an unidentified mob entered the premises of state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital shortly after midnight on Thursday, August 15, and vandalised portions of the medical facility, where a resident woman doctor was allegedly gang-raped and murdered last week. The mob also pelted stones at the police personnel deployed at the RG Kar hospital, prompting them to fire tear-gas shells to disperse the crowd.