“If the police are unable to solve this by Sunday, we will hand over the case to the CBI,” Mamata said after meeting the family of the deceased doctor.’
The Bengal CM, who has many times hit out the CBI accusing it of working on the instructions of the BJP-led Centre, also added, “However, the success rate of the central probe agency is very low.”
The body of a 31-year-old doctor was found at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on Friday morning.
A day later, Kolkata Police arrested a civic volunteer, said to be the main accused in the case. The gruesome details of the rape-murder have sent chills across the nation prompting the doctors to go on a pan-India strike in protest.
Meanwhile, three PILs were also filed in Calcutta High Court seeking a CBI investigation into the case.
But when the accused is already in 14-day judicial custody, then why the opposition and others are asking for a CBI probe?
The suicide angle
The allegations of foul play started as the family of the deceased doctor alleged rape and murder. Her family, while speaking to Metro, alleged that the hospital initially tried to cover up the case by calling it suicide.
“We want justice for our daughter. She did not deserve this. We want the truth to come out. I wonder why the hospital authorities had initially told us that she had committed suicide. What were they trying to hide?” he said.
Later, the police ruled out suicide after the initial autopsy report indicated that she was murdered after being sexually assaulted.
The report stated, “There was bleeding from both her eyes and mouth and injuries over the face. The victim was also bleeding from her private parts. She also has injuries in her belly, left leg… neck, in her right hand, ring finger and… lips.”
Meanwhile, another police officer said that circumstantial evidence indicated a possibility that the woman doctor was first murdered and then raped by the arrested accused.
“There is evidence that the doctor was sleeping alone in the seminar hall of the hospital when she was attacked by the accused. The woman tried to resist but was strangled to death. To make sure she was dead, he also smothered her. There is a possibility that the accused could have raped her after the murder,” the officer told PTI.
“It is a very shameful incident. The inquiry should be conducted properly. We demand a CBI inquiry because the police first said that it was a case of suicide and then said that it was a murder case. The accused they have arrested is also a part of the police administration,” Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar said.
Easy hospital access to every room, ward
The accused, who was reportedly an outsider frequenting the hospital premises, was arrested and charged under Sections 64 (rape) and 103 (murder) of BNS.
According to reports, Sanjay Ray had access to every part of the hospital including rooms and wards. The lapse points to a nexus between security and the touts.
His identity as a “police guy” also helped him in this case.
The woman doctor was found dead in a seminar room in the hospital in the morning. The reports of how easily the accused was able to access the room she was sleeping in, have led to a huge outrage among doctors over security at a government-run hospital.
Later, the hospital authorities expelled the two security persons contractually employed at the emergency ward for not discharging their duties properly which, in a way, led to the crime.
Sanjay Ray and his police connection
The police investigation revealed that Ray was a civic volunteer of Kolkata Police, which he misused to commit the crime.
Ray, a mere civic volunteer, enjoyed privileges and freedom of movement like the regular policemen. The initial investigation revealed he used to live at a police barrack in North Kolkata which is meant for regular cops in the permanent payroll, news agency IANS sources said.
According to IANS, the investigating officials also found personal numbers of some lower-ranking police officers and staff from the accused’s mobile phone.
“He enjoyed easy access to all departments due to his role in the police welfare association. He would check on relatives and family members of police admitted in the hospital. On different points, he was also posted in RG Kar Hospitals outpost. He used a motorbike with a Kolkata Police sticker on it. He stayed in police barrack and many civic volunteers or people working with the welfare association or community policing knew him,” a police official told Indian Express.
Questions over Mamata government’s inquiry panel
The opposition raised questions as the West Bengal government formed a panel to probe the case. Demanding a CBI probe, the leader of the opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly Suvendu Adhikari said, “Instead of addressing the issue seriously, the State Government has formed an 11-member inquiry committee, which bizarrely includes some interns. It seems the government is either trying to cover up its negligence or is not taking this matter seriously.”
“I urge the student community, especially medical students, to protest vigorously against the State Government’s complacent attitude. I will provide all the support necessary to ensure justice for the deceased student,” the BJP leader said.
BJP MLA Agnimitra Paul also demanded a CBI investigation and a re-postmortem by a Central Government hospital.
“The condition in which her body was found–completely naked with bruises–suggests she was raped and then murdered. We demand a CBI investigation. A postmortem should not be conducted after the evening, yet it was done here. If the postmortem is carried out under the state system, the truth will be buried,” Paul said.
Accused went back to police barrack to sleep after committing crime
The police reconstructed the crime scene without the presence of the arrested accused on Sunday. After committing the crime, the accused reportedly went to a police barrack and slept until Friday morning.
“We are also talking to persons who were on duty on Thursday night till the next morning. CCTV footage is also being checked,” Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal said.
The police have seized the clothes and shoes worn by the accused during the crime. The officer stated that the accused had washed the clothes he was wearing during the crime, but his shoes, which had blood stains on them, were found during a search at the place he was staying.
When asked if anyone else was involved in the crime along with the arrested accused, the officer said, “As of now there is no evidence of that.”
(With agency inputs)
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