Female doctor found dead inside R G Kar Hospital, CM speaks to father
The Statesman | 10 August 2024
Mystery shrouded the death of a female postgraduate trainee (PGT) doctor inside the seminar hall, housed on the fourth floor of the emergency building on Friday.
Considering the seriousness of the incident, commissioner of police Vineet Kumar Goyal, senior police officials of homicide section and forensic experts visited the spot.
Narayan Swarup Nigam, principal secretary, in-charge of health also visited the hospital later in the day.
Later in the day, chief minister Mamata Banerjee spoke to the father of the deceased over phone and assured him of stern action against the culprits. The father also said that the chief minister has promised him of appropriate action following proper investigation into the death.
A three-member inquiry team, headed by the dean of the teaching hospital has been formed to probe the incident.
The incident came to light around 11.30am, when some group D men of the hospital found her lying on a stretcher, inside the third floor of the chest medicine department housed in the emergency building, according to police sources.
She was a resident of Sodepur in the outskirts of the city and doing her PGT course in chest medicine after completing her undergraduate MBBS degree. Multiple injury marks, including scratching were spotted on her body. Her dress was also in a disorderly state, police sources said, requesting anonymity.
Her mobile phone and laptop were also found lying beside her body.
“She was on night duty till 3am on Friday in the chest medicine department and took rest in the seminar hall. This morning, we came to know that her body was mysteriously found on a stretcher. We are seriously concerned with the incident and CP and other senior officials are investigating the case,” said Dr Sudipta Roy, Trinamul Congress MLA and president of Rogi Kalyan Samiti (RKS) of R G Kar Medical College Hospital.
“We informed the police soon after we came to know about the incident. An impartial magistrate level inquiry will be conducted to probe the incident,” Dr Sanjoy Basisth, superintendent of the hospital, said.
Demanding an immediate impartial inquiry, her father Sekharranjan Debnath alleged that her daughter was murdered.
Some junior doctors, mainly her classmates in the PGT second year, said they still couldn’t even believe it. She was found there with her junior colleagues there in the department till 3am and took rest in the seminar hall after that, said one of the junior doctors.
Different doctors’ bodies have strongly criticized security lapses in connection with the mysterious death of the PGT doctor.
“We demand a judicial inquiry to unearth the truth behind the death. The post-mortem of her body must be performed under videography by forensic medicine experts of other government medical colleges not by the R G Kar. The R G Kar Hospital administration will try to influence the post-mortem report to suppress the probe, if the forensic medicine experts of the same hospital are assigned for the autopsy,” said Dr Manas Gumta of Association of Health Service Doctors.
All India Democratic Students Organisation (AIDSO) stated agitation at the hospital alleging that she was raped and murdered.
Post-mortem has been started under supervision of a magistrate later in the evening.
Dr S K Saha, forensic expert, who is also a member of the team performing the post-mortem, told reporters, “We found injury marks on her lips, cheeks and throat as per initial findings.”
Nirmal Ghosh, Trinamul Congress MLA from Panihati and chief whip in the Assembly, who met the bereaved parents of the deceased at their residence, which is under his constituency, said, “She was brutally murdered. Those, who are involved in the case, must be given capital punishment.”
The BJP alleged that an attempt was being made to cover things up and demanded a CBI inquiry into the incident but city police commissioner Mr Goyal said, “Investigation is on. Action would follow the investigation.”