Amid protests by civil society organisations over the rape-murder of a trainee doctor, Bengali theatre personality Biplab Bandyopadhyay on Tuesday announced returning the state-instituted ‘Best Theatre Director’ award over the RG Kar Hospital issue.
Bandyopadhyay, eminent playwright and director, said in a statement that he is returning the award conferred on him earlier this year by the Paschimbanga Natya Akademi and the Rs 30,000 grant.
The state government and the “partisan” police force want to “hide facts” following the rape and murder of a woman doctor in R G Kar Hospital on August 9, he alleged.
“I think the main criteria behind such awards is not one’s talent and merit but sycophancy, unconditional support to the state. I did not realise this while accepting this honour in February,” he said.
Bandyopadhyay said, “I felt ashamed and aggrieved as a human being and disturbed by the shameless hyper activism of the state after the R G Kar incident.” He said he cannot retain any state-instituted award after the R G Kar incident.
“I have intimated the Akademi (about his decision to return the award),” Bandyopadhyay told reporters.
One week back, a well-known theatre group in Malda district ‘Samabeta Prayas’ said it will return a Rs 50,000 state grant to protest the government’s handling of the R G Kar issue.
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