Following an order from the Calcutta High Court today, the Central Bureau of Investigation, or CBI, has assumed responsibility for the probe into the horrific rape and murder of a 31-year-old doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
The top government investigative body has re-registered the Kolkata Police’s First Information Report in accordance with regulations. The CBI initiates the process of registering the police FIR as its own case whenever it takes over a case from any state police. On Wednesday, a group of CBI officers from Delhi would go to Kolkata accompanied by forensic scientists and medical professionals.
Aside from seeing the crime location where the dead body was discovered, the specialists are expected to review the autopsy report and examine any videography included in it, according to officials.
When the doctor showed up dead in the hospital’s lecture hall on Friday morning, her garments strewn about and her body covered with injuries, the Calcutta High Court found grave shortcomings in the hospital’s reaction. According to the court, the victim’s parents want an impartial inquiry to make sure that no evidence is interfered with.
The previous head of the state-run institution, Dr. Sandip Ghosh, was severely criticized by the court, which said it was “disheartening” that he was not “proactive”. The former principal was offered the same position in another institution following his resignation, which the court also noted. The court ordered that he be promptly removed from his responsibilities and placed on leave.
Following the doctor’s rape-murder, Dr. Ghosh resigned yesterday, citing his inability to handle the humiliation he was receiving on social media. He was appointed Principal of Calcutta National Medical College a few hours later. Doctors who were against the nomination questioned why there was such a hurry for him, and this led to a surge of protests.
“The appropriate authority should have borne in mind the circumstances under which the resignation was given,” the court concluded, criticizing the state government for offering Dr. Ghosh a new post soon after he resigned. As a result, even if the resignation was rejected, the department owed it to the Principal to remove him from his administrative duties and refrain from giving him any more responsibilities of a similar nature. This professor now serves as the principal of a different medical school. The reason for the urgency of doing so is unclear.”
Additionally, the court said that Dr. Ghosh is the first individual whose statement investigators are required to record. “His professional abilities are undeniable, but once he becomes principal, he becomes an administrator. Why protect him when you should have recorded his statement? Something is not right.”
The court observed that the hospital management did not support the victim or the victim’s relatives. “This particular instance is unusual. There shouldn’t be any more time wasted. The court stated that there was a chance that the evidence was tampered with.
In addition, the top court stated that in “normal circumstances,” it would have granted the state police further time. “It’s been five days, and no meaningful conclusions have been reached that ought to have by now. We are thus justified in believing that there is a good chance the evidence will be lost. The matter must be referred to CBI immediately, as we believe is appropriate,” the court declared.
Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of West Bengal, had earlier stated that the Kolkata Police investigation had to be finished by Sunday, after which the state government would suggest, at the parents’ request, a CBI investigation. The BJP-led opposition parties had threatened to tamper with evidence if state police looked into the issue that sent shockwaves across the country and had requested a central agency inquiry.
