Kolkata Doctor’s Rape-Murder: ‘Renovation Work’ Near Crime Scene At RG Kar Hospital Sparks Row
A fresh political row erupted in the Kolkata doctor’s rape and murder case as Left-wing groups and the Bharatiya Janata Party have accused authorities at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital of attempting to tamper with evidence related to the incident.
The CPI(M)-affiliated Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) and Students’ Federation of India (SFI) pointed out that renovation work had begun near the seminar room where the doctor’s body was discovered just a few days earlier. They gathered at the hospital’s Emergency building gate to protest, alleging that the authorities were trying to destroy evidence and protect the real culprits.
A doctor from the Left-affiliated Joint Forum of Doctors claimed that the postmortem report suggested the victim might have been raped by multiple individuals.
“It is clear that this is not the work of a single individual… she was gangraped,” The Indian Express quoted doctor Subarna Goswami, who was with the family of the victim when they saw the postmortem report, as saying.
The Kolkata Police has so far arrested a civic volunteer, Sanjoy Roy, in connection with the 31-year-old doctor’s rape and murder. Meanwhile the Central Bureau of Investigation has taken over the case on Wednesday morning.
BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya alleged that while West Bengal is seething with anger, given Mamata Banerjee’s apathy and Kolkata Police’s botched cover-up attempt, “RG Kar Medical College authorities break down room walls, inside the Chest Medicine Dept, where the on-duty junior doctor was subjected to brutal rape and murder, destroying what could be crucial circumstantial evidence, which could have led the CBI investigating team to the murderers”.
“Area marked as Resident Doctor’s Area and Toilet (Female) inside the Chest Medicine Dept also being broken down in the name of renovation. This leaves no one in doubt that Mamata Banerjee was all along eliminating evidences and covering crime trail to protect those involved in the heinous crime, who, it is speculated, happen to be family members of influential TMC leaders. Repeat: No woman is safe in Bengal,” Amit Malviya wrote on X while sharing a video of a video.
The Indian Express citing sources reported that hospital authorities had on Saturday ordered the demolition of a room and a nearby women’s toilet – both of which were just a few feet away from the seminar room – to build a rest area. This was done in response to students’ demand for a rest area in the Chest Medicine department, the report added.
DYFI state secretary Minakshi Mukherjee, who participated in the protests at RG Kar Medical College, accused the TMC government of attempting to shield the real perpetrators.
BJP MLA and Leader of Opposition in Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, said, “They have already tampered with a lot of evidence. The CBI has to take the case immediately. We have already demanded the resignation of Mamata Banerjee, who is both Chief Minister and the state Home Minister.”
CBI team arrives in Kolkata to begin investigation
A CBI team has arrived in Kolkata to take over the investigation of the rape and murder case of the trainee doctor, as ordered by the Calcutta high court. The CBI has also arrived with a specialised medical and forensic team from Delhi.
On Tuesday, the Calcutta High Court ordered a CBI investigation into the sexual assault and murder of a woman post-graduate trainee (PGT) doctor on August 9.
The court asked the Kolkata Police to hand over all documents to the CBI immediately.
The doctors and medical students held a protest at AIIMS Delhi after the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) called for a nationwide shutdown of OPD services from Tuesday in solidarity against the sexual assault and murder of a woman doctor.