Kolkata: RG Kar doctor’s death certificate handed over after months of delay
Telegraph | 21 March 2025
State health secretary Narayan Swaroop Nigam visited the parents of the young doctor who was raped and murdered at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, ostensibly to hand over her death certificate.
She was raped and killed more than seven months ago, on August 9, 2024.
Her father said the family received the link to the death certificate on Wednesday afternoon, hours before the state health secretary visited them with the death certificate amid allegations of delay.
“We have been running from one office to another for my daughter’s death certificate. Finally, we received the link today. The health secretary came to our home to give the original document,” the father said.
He said he had been trying for the death certificate since September.
“Last September, I was pursuing this over the phone. On January 31, I applied in writing. After that I had to go from Swasthya Bhavan to RG Kar to the borough office but to no avail. It is not a pleasant feeling for a father to run around for his daughter’s death certificate,” he said.
The family had complained several times about the delay.
State health department officials said there were two ways to issue death certificates.
“If a person is brought dead to a hospital, the local civic body (municipal corporation or municipality) issues the death certificate. And if a person dies in a hospital under treatment, the hospital issues it,” said the official.
“However, this (the doctor’s death) was an exceptional case as she was neither brought dead nor under treatment. Hence there was a lot of confusion on how to go about it.”
Sources said on Wednesday a decision was taken to empower the RG Kar hospital authorities to issue the certificate.
Nigam, while leaving the house of the slain doctor, said he went to hand over the original death certificate.
The 31-year-old postgraduate trainee was found dead in a seminar hall in the emergency building of RG Kar hospital.