Prominent Bengali Artists Return State Honours Amid Protests Over Rape-Murder Incident

Three esteemed stage and film personalities in West Bengal, including national award winner Sudipta Chakraborty, are returning state honours as a form of protest against the handling of a rape-murder case at RG Kar Hospital. The artists criticize the state’s response and demand justice for the victim.

Amid widespread protests by civil society organisations over the tragic rape-murder of a trainee doctor, three prominent stage and film personalities from West Bengal announced on Tuesday that they will return the honours conferred on them by the state government in protest.

The three personalities, including actor Sudipta Chakraborty, theatre personality Biplab Bandyopadhyay, and thespian Chandan Sen, have all voiced their outrage over the RG Kar Hospital case. Chakraborty, a national award-winning actress, has decided to return her Special Film Award, citing comments made by TMC MLA Kanchan Mullick urging state award recipients against protesting.

Theatre personality Biplab Bandyopadhyay has similarly announced his decision to return his state award along with the Rs 30,000 monetary grant. Expressing his dismay over the incident, Bandyopadhyay criticized the state and police for their alleged attempts to "hide facts." Thespian Chandan Sen has also chosen to return his 'Dinabandhu Mitra Purashkar' in solidarity with the protest.

(With inputs from agencies.)