Kolkata: The Supreme Court has taken suo motu cognisance of the alleged rape-murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata and will hear the case on August 20, as protests demanding justice for the victim continued across West Bengal for the tenth day.
In a rare display of unity, football fans from rival teams East Bengal and Mohun Bagan gathered near Salt Lake Stadium to demand justice for the victim, leading to the cancellation of the Kolkata Derby in the Durand Cup due to law and order concerns.
The CBI, tasked by the Calcutta High Court to probe the case, summoned Sandip Ghosh, former principal of RG Kar Medical College, for the third consecutive day and is now examining his call records and chats. He has been asked to provide details of his phone calls before and after the incident.
Meanwhile, Kolkata Police has intensified their crackdown on alleged social media misinformation, which the opposition has criticised as an attempt to silence dissent. On Sunday, they issued summonses to TMC MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, former BJP MP Locket Chatterjee and renowned doctors Kunal Sarkar and Subarna Goswami for allegedly spreading false information and disclosing the victim’s identity.
The doctor, whose body was found on August 9, was allegedly raped-murdered while on duty. A civic volunteer was arrested the following day in connection with the crime. The Calcutta High Court on August 13 ordered the transfer of the case probe from Kolkata Police to the CBI which started its probe on August 14.
According to the cause list of August 20 uploaded on the apex court website, a bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra is scheduled to hear a matter titled ‘In Re: Alleged rape and murder incident of a trainee doctor in RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata and related issue’.
The CBI subjected Ghosh to intense questioning with investigators examining his call records and actions during and after the incident, seeking to determine whether there was any pre-planning or conspiracy involved.
The former principal, who was grilled by the agency’s officers for over 13 hours from Saturday till past midnight, reached the CBI office at CGO Complex in Salt Lake at 11 am on Sunday.
Ghosh was asked to specify his role after getting the news of the death of the doctor, who he had contacted and why he made the parents wait for nearly three hours, a CBI officer said.
The ex-principal was also questioned who had ordered the renovation of the rooms near the seminar hall at the emergency building of the hospital after the incident.
“We are trying to find out whether there was any conspiracy or pre-planning to the crime. What was the principal doing and whether he is involved with the incident in any manner,” the officer said.
Meanwhile, Kolkata Police, which has been facing criticism over the incident, issued summonses to several prominent persons, including TMC MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy and former BJP MP Locket Chatterjee, as well as renowned doctors Kunal Sarkar and Subarna Goswami, for allegedly spreading misinformation and disclosing the identity of the victim.
Roy had earlier in the day called upon the CBI to act fairly and demanded the custodial interrogation of the former principal of the medical establishment and the CP to know “who and why floated the suicide story”.
Chatterjee, the former BJP MP, said she has not received any summons yet. “It would have been better if they had shown the same promptness while investigating the case. Everyone wants justice for the girl,” she said.
Kolkata Police has issued summonses to 57 others for allegedly spreading rumours and disclosing the identity of the woman doctor.
Incidentally, Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal, during a press conference on Friday, said there has been a lot of rumour-mongering which has affected their investigation and posed a threat to law and order.
In response to the ongoing unrest, police imposed prohibitory orders near RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, banning gatherings of more than five people until August 24.
Healthcare services in the state have remained crippled for the tenth consecutive day due to the cease-work by junior doctors demanding justice for their colleague, with emergency and outpatient departments in most state-run hospitals still closed, causing significant distress among patients.
“Our agitation will continue. This is the only way to get our demands fulfilled. How can people get inside the hospital and attack us even when the police are present? We can understand the actual motive of the vandalism,” a protesting doctor said.
On Sunday, braving heavy rains, students from various medical colleges marched from College Street to Shyambazar, holding placards and chanting slogans. Bengal’s actors, directors, and technicians also staged a rally in the city to protest the rape-murder of the doctor.
“It is very shameful. Law and order has completely collapsed in West Bengal. A football match could not happen… and look at police deployment, it looks like a riot is going on,” said All India Football Federation (AIFF) president Kalyan Chaubey, who is also a BJP leader.
Expressing anguish over the incident, over 70 Padma awardee doctors have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding quick enactment of a special law to deal with violence against healthcare personnel and implementation of improved safety protocols in medical facilities.
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