Cops to quiz official who called woman's kin, said it was suicide
Times of India | 13 August 2024
KOLKATA: Kolkata Police have summoned Tuesday an assistant superintendent of RG Kar Hospital who had allegedly called the slain PG trainee doctor's family and informed them that their daughter "died by suicide".
The doctor's father said on Sunday that the assistant superintendent of the chest medicine wing was the first to call them on Aug 9, the day the doctor was found dead.
The family had also claimed that their 31-year-old daughter had been under "mental pressure" and that they suspected an "insider role". So far, a Kolkata Police volunteer, Sanjay Roy (35), has been arrested in the case. On Monday, the probe was expanded to include hospital staff and doctors with police sources saying over 60 people had been questioned so far.
Seven doctors - four among them who had dined with the victim a little after Thursday-Friday midnight - have recorded their statements with police on Monday. The food delivery boy who had served them dinner will also be questioned.
SIT probing the case will go through all of last month's footage from the chest medicine department and call record dump to ascertain if the victim ever had a spat or argument with her colleagues, including doctors, nurses, interns and other staff. Most importantly, everyone from the administration will be examined, said a senior SIT officer.
The SIT itself has been expanded from seven officers to 13 in line with a Sunday deadline set by CM Mamata Banerjee to wrap up the probe. Police will also record statements of cops and civic volunteers on duty at that time.
As the investigations widened, it emerged that Roy, the arrested civic volunteer, faced multiple allegations, ranging from extortion, intimidation and even threatening women.
An internal inquiry also found that Roy used to get 5 litres of diesel free daily to use a police motorcycle for personal work. The motorcycle was seized Monday. Civic volunteers help cops in non-law enforcement roles and, while they are paid by the state, they are not officially part of the force. Despite this, Roy was reported to be involved in police transfers.