Bengal govt sets up RG Kar commission under Karnataka HC ex-CJ
Times of India | 30 August 2026
Kolkata: Former Karnataka HC chief justice Subhro Kamal Mukherjee has been tasked with heading the RG Kar commission, which will include former medical education director Debashish Bhattacharya, forensic and toxicology expert Tapas Basu, and MLAs Rajesh Kumar (a former IPS officer) and Dipanjan Chakraborty (former NSG personnel).
The commission will convene its first meeting on Sept 1. The Bengal govt notification, which has reached its members, comes after CM Suvendu Adhikari announced on Aug 9 that the state govt would constitute a probe panel under the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952, to investigate the events leading to the RG Kar rape and murder.
Mukherjee, a former Calcutta HC judge and former interim vice-chancellor of Presidency and Rabindra Bharati universities, on Saturday said, “I have received the notification. I am out of Kolkata right now and will be able to comment further only upon my return.”
No panel member spoke on the inquiry’s scope or the timeframe charted out by the govt.
This is the third inquiry commission constituted by BJP since it assumed the govt in Bengal. Prior to this, the BJP govt set up a commission on institutional corruption, headed by retired Calcutta HC judge Biswajit Basu, to probe allegations of bribery, extortion, recruitment irregularities and misuse of funds in state schemes between 2011 and May 2026.
It also set up a commission, headed by justice Samapti Chatterjee, to probe allegations of violence and atrocities against women and girls in the state. The inquiry commissions possess civil court powers to process public complaints, summon witnesses, requisition records and recommend filing of fresh FIRs or recovery of funds.
The govt is yet to issue any formal statement regarding the new commission. The appointment of Bhattacharya and two BJP MLAs, however, has been questioned in certain quarters.
Manas Gumta, general secretary of Association of Health Service Doctors, declined to comment on the matter, until the official govt order on the commission and its terms of reference are released. Biplab Chandra of ‘Voice of Abhaya, Voice of Women’ said, “The past govt did not deliver justice. This govt had promised justice in seven days.”
There is a multilayered investigation underway in the Aug 9, 2024 RG Kar rape-murder case. Following the Sealdah court’s conviction of Sanjay Roy and his life imprisonment, the Calcutta HC is hearing a plea by the victim’s family seeking further probe. The HC will hear the case on Sept 24.
A fresh CBI team is already investigating the matter. The HC is also adjudicating a CBI plea against Roy demanding the death penalty instead of life imprisonment. The CBI and ED are also probing cases of corruption in RG Kar. Meanwhile, Bengal Police is probing a separate FIR regarding cremation irregularities.