• R G Kar rape and murder case: Verdict likely on January 18
    Indian Express | 10 January 2025
  • THE TRIAL in the rape and murder case of a woman junior doctor at R G Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata in August last year was complete and the verdict is likely to be pronounced on January 18 by a Sealdah court.

    The parents of the victim had moved the Calcutta High Court in December last year, seeking a fresh investigation into the case and appealed to the court to order a fresh probe “soon”. Their counsel told the court that they “do not have confidence” in the current investigation, being led by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

    The CBI’s lawyer, Partho Sarathi Dutta, said on Thursday, “The CBI has asked for the maximum punishment… The investigation is still on.”

    The victim’s parents’ lawyer said, “We have just one demand – That whoever or all who are involved in the case should be brought forward, they should get the maximum punishment. We want justice. The supplementary chargesheet has still not been submitted. The investigation is not yet over… We are hoping that the truth will come out. The CBI and we have demanded for the maximum punishment (for the accused, Sanjay Roy).”

    The victim’s father said, “We are not happy with the investigation, which is why there should be a further probe into the case. We have asked for the maximum punishment.”

    “What the police had done in five days, the CBI has done in five months,” said the victim’s mother, adding, “There will be further investigation, we are not happy with the probe. We know that Sanjoy Roy is the culprit but he alone could not have committed such a crime in a 24×7 hospital. When all involved are punished, we will be satisfied. We did not want a CBI investigation… It was the court that decided that the CBI would probe the case.”

    On December 13, the additional chief judicial magistrate, Sealdah court, granted bail to former officer-in-charge of Tala police station Abhijit Mondal and Sandip Ghosh, former principal of R G Kar Medical College and Hospital, in connection with the case. The court granted them bail as the CBI had failed to file chargesheets against them within the 90-day statutory period.

    The two were arrested by the CBI on September 14 for allegedly tampering with evidence in the case and trying to hush up the incident. While Mondal was accused of delaying the filing of FIR, Ghosh was accused of tampering with evidence. While Mondal was released from jail after being granted bail, Ghosh is still in judicial remand in another case related to alleged financial irregularities at R G Kar Hospital.

    A 31-year-old junior doctor was raped and killed at the state-run RG Kar hospital in Kolkata on August 9 last year. The victim’s body was found in the seminar room of the hospital.

    On August 10, a civic volunteer, who was then working for the Kolkata Police, was arrested on suspicion of committing the crime. The case led to widespread protests across the state and the Calcutta High Court transferred the investigation to the CBI, saying that the Kolkata Police’s investigation did not inspire confidence. The trial in the rape and murder case commenced in a Kolkata court on November 11, three months after the incident, and the proceedings were held in-camera in the court of additional district and sessions judge Anirban Das.

  • Link to this news (Indian Express)