On Tuesday, 13th August, the Calcutta High Court directed the West Bengal state counsel to ensure that the Principal of RG Kar Medical College steps down from the post before 3 PM else the Court would pass an order. The directions from the High Court came during the hearing of RG Kar Medical College Rape and Murder Case where a 31-year-old PG student was brutally raped and murdered inside college premises. The matter was heard by a Bench of Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam and Justice H Bhattacharyya.
During the hearing, the Court was informed that the Principal had resigned. However, he was almost immediately appointed to another prestigious college. The Court said if the Principal had stepped down citing some moral responsibility, it was rather surprising that the government was rewarding him. The High Court said, “The Principal is the guardian of all doctors working. Suppose he didn’t show any empathy then who else will show. Your client (Principal) should not be working, he should be at home. He is so powerful that a govt counsel is representing him?”
You don’t reward him (principal) overnight…make his chairman of institution: Court
— Bar and Bench (@barandbench) August 13, 2024
Court: How do you ensure nothing will go wrong in one day? 24 hours?
Have you formed SIT
State lawyer discusses and informs headed by highest police officials.#RGKarMedicalCollegeHospital
The Calcutta High Court further directed the state counsel to ensure the Principal would not function and step down from his post. “We give him the option to submit his leave application by 3 PM today otherwise an order shall be passed”, the bench said.
Court: He is the first person from whom statement should have been recorded…he is heading the institution…they are not above law..they may be govt official…he is an administrator…why do you protect? Let him tell the truth…in early hours it happened…the statement is the…
— Bar and Bench (@barandbench) August 13, 2024
The Court added, “He is the first person from whom statement should have been recorded. He is heading the institution…they are not above the law. They may be govt official. He is an administrator. Why do you protect? Let him tell the truth. In the early hours, it happened. The statement is the basis, sir!! Something is missing.”
Before rising for a lunch break, the Court directed the state council to ask the Principal to resign and send a photograph of the resignation letter.
Court: We want to see Principals resignation letter…we want to read it…ask him to send a picture. Produce it.#RGKarMedicalCollegeHospital #rape
— Bar and Bench (@barandbench) August 13, 2024
During the hearing, the Court said that it was not possible to gag the press. The Court further asked what assurance the state had provided to the protesting doctors and opined that doctors were justified in expressing their emotions.
RG Medical Kar Medical College rape and murder case:
— Bar and Bench (@barandbench) August 13, 2024
Calcutta High Court remarks, “We cannot gag the press…what assurance are you (State) giving to doctors? They are hurt. The incident is so gruesome. They (doctors) are justified in expressing their emotions.”#RGKarHospital… pic.twitter.com/xUW0SP8f8k
The Court pointed out that there was an attempt to cover up the matter by declaring the incident as suicide. The Principal also indulged in victim blaming suggesting it was a case of psychosis.
The petitioner’s counsel informed the court that the state said they would transfer the matter to CBI but now suggesting it would be done after seven days. “These 7 days are very crucial to wipe away evidence,” the counsel asserted.
Court: There is an apprehension that if time lost there are chances of something getting derailed. How do you (state) assure that doesn’t happen.
— Bar and Bench (@barandbench) August 13, 2024
State: I am coming to show you that in 24 hours. I am trying expedite matter…
Petitioner counsel: first State says transferred to…
When the Court assembled again, state counsel presented the information based on Call Details (CD). The counsel said that at around 9:30 AM, the family of the victim was informed by the assistant superintendent of the hospital. After that, the inspector in charge of the hospital outpost was informed at around 10:10 AM and 10:30 AM, the local police station was informed. By 11 AM, the homicide team had reached the college and at 11:30 AM, all the senior police officials had reached the crime spot. The parents arrived at 1 PM.
State counsel: by this time the forensic team (incident happened at what is known as seminar room) was undergoing examination in the seminar room. Thereafter, the parents showed anguish and commotion happened immediately by 10 past 1 they were given access to the seminar hall……
— Bar and Bench (@barandbench) August 13, 2024
The parents were allowed to go to the seminar hall at around 1:10 PM. The court was informed that the body of the student was semi-naked when the students found it. Someone put a cloth on it and covered it before police reached the spot.
The body of the victim was taken for post-mortem at 5:30 PM and post-mortem was conducted between 6:10 PM and 7:10 PM.
When the state counsel said nobody filed a complaint of “unnatural death”, the Court again questioned why the Principal was not present at the scene and why he was “rewarded” later with a post at another college.
RG Kar Medical College Rape and Murder Case
On 9th August, a semi-nude body of a female PG trainee doctor was found inside the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. It is a government-run hospital. Following the discovery, her father had said that she was raped and killed inside the hospital, and efforts were underway to “conceal the truth.”
The doctor had dinner with four of her coworkers at 2:30 am that night after seeing Neeraj Chopra’s javelin throw event during the Paris Olympics. Afterwards, she went to the seminar hall to relax. The main accused in the case, Sanjay Roy, had access to every department as he worked at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital police outpost. He was not affiliated with the institution but often went there. CCTV evidence shows him entering the premises where the doctor was discovered, that led to his arrest on 10th August. He returned home after committing the horrifying act and slept in late. Roy also cleaned the outfit he wore to remove any evidence. The police recovered his bloodstained shoes during a search.
The Doctor was brutally tortured before she was suffocated to death, according to the post-mortem report. The four-page report stated that she had been strangled and that “perverted sexuality” and “genital torture” had resulted in a serious wounds in her private parts.
The Doctor’s thyroid cartilage was also shattered. A source stated that the rape and murder occurred on 9th August most likely between 3 and 5 am. Her lips, fingers, left leg, and abdomen were all covered with injuries.
According to sources, the Doctor’s head was slammed against a wall or the floor resulting in severe injuries and her mouth and nose were squeezed shut to stop the victim from shouting. The accused had reportedly beaten her up as she attempted to defend herself and resist. He then raped and killed her. According to the autopsy, the girl’s hands and face had cuts on them. Shards of glass from her spectacles broke and got into her eyes following an intense blow. The initial postmortem report ruled out suicide and stated that the trainee doctor had been sexually assaulted before being murdered.
