On 25th September the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) made shocking revelations into the rape and murder of a junior doctor in the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkatta. The charges were made in the remand sheet submitted by the agency before the Court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Sealdah. It unveiled that some of the records concerning the case were “falsely created” and “altered” at the Tala police station in Kolkata.
Furthermore, the CBI asked for the judicial custody of Sandip Ghosh, the former principal of R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, and Abhijit Mondal, the former official-in-charge of the Tala police station. “During custodial interrogation of both the accused persons, new/additional facts have emerged to the effect that some false records pertaining to the instant case were created/altered in the police station,” the agency disclosed.
Family members of the victim also made similar accusations about evidence manipulation and the delay in filing the first information report. The CBI requested judicial custody of the accused until 30th September. The number of calls that are undergoing verification has been exchanged, according to the agency, based on a review of the call data records (CDR) of both suspected parties.
The investigation agency informed the special court that the police station’s CCTV footage had also been confiscated. The CBI informed that the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) will receive the seized CCTV material from the Tala police station for additional analysis. “Some things are beyond CBI investigation. There is no magic wand in our hand that we can do everything in a moment. We need time. We have extracted databases from their mobile phones and CCTV footage. We are still collecting evidence. It takes time that’s why we are praying for judicial custody till 30th September,” it prayed before the court.
The CBI asserted that there was an “unnecessary delay of two days” in the seizure of the main accused Sanjay Roy’s clothing and possessions, which might have led to substantial evidence against him. An autopsy report revealed that the trainee doctor had been murdered and sexually assaulted. Her body was discovered on 9th August in the seminar hall of the RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata. Roy was apprehended the following day of the gruesome incident after “his role in the commission of crime had already emerged.”
CBI arrested Mondal on 14th September and Ghosh who was already in judicial custody over corruption charges was taken into custody the next day. They have remained in jail ever since. The agency is currently looking into any potential criminal conspiracy involving Roy, Ghosh, and Mondal. The CBI’s motion was granted by the Sealdah court, which placed the duo under judicial custody until 30th September. Sanjay Roy has been identified as the only person accused of the horrific crime.
West Bengal BJP holds protest
The West Bengal unit of Bharat Janata Party organised an agitation and held a procession to Kalighat, which is close to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s house. Suvendu Adhikari, the leader of the opposition, stated that a supreme court bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DYChandrachud expressed astonishment and alarm upon viewing the CBI report. He declared, “There has been tampering of evidence and it will come to light. All this will come out in the public domain.”
TMC leader courts controversy
Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress MLA Narayan Goswami’s recent statement led to a row as he stated, “We demand justice for our sister doctor, who was brutally murdered. The investigation must be swift, and the guilty punished. However, why should we not observe Durga Puja, which celebrates the triumph of goddess Durga over evil? Why should it be muted?” He charged that people who were not raised in Bengali culture were trying to ruin the celebration. “We should respond by celebrating in an even grander manner with more illumination.”
The remark created controversy since many people believe that the Durga Puja celebration should not be marked with pomp and splendour because of the rape and murder of the 31-year-old doctor. The head of the Santosh Mitra Square Durga Puja committee and BJP leader Sajal Ghosh criticized Goswami’s remarks. He expressed that the statement showed an “insensitive attitude” on the part of TMC leaders who don’t seem to care about the suffering of the people. He lashed out, “The TMC MLA calls for celebrating the festival like a vulture over a body. We will observe Durga Puja solemnly, pledging to seek justice for our Tilottoma.”
Notably, another TMC leader Atish Sarkar’s comments also resulted in a massive backlash earlier this month when he threatened protesters demonstrating against the rape and murder of the doctor. “Didi (Mamata Banerjee) has instructed us to hiss. Those of you who are abusing Didi, engaging in her character assassination, if we make obscene posters of your mothers and sisters and put them on your walls, you won’t be able to remove them. I will make a distorted picture of your mother and sister and hang it on the door of your house. You will not be able to leave your house. That day is going to come soon,” he threatened.
On 9th August, the victim doctor was discovered deceased in the college’s seminar hall. The results of an autopsy proved she had been murdered and raped. Doctors around the nation have gone on strike in protest of the incident, advocating for tighter legislation and policing to protect the safety of medical personnel. The incident has caused widespread indignation and protests. The investigation into the matter has been handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) by the Calcutta High Court which slammed the negligence and attitude of the state government. Meanwhile, the main accused named Sanjay Roy was arrested by the authorities.
