High Court orders CBI probe into rape, murder of doctor in Kolkata hospital

The court directed the Kolkata Police to hand over the case diary to the central probe agency by this evening, and all other documents by 10 am on Wednesday.

Kolkata: Even as the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday ordered the state government to hand over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) the investigation into the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at a hospital run by the West Bengal government, the protesting medics decided to continue the stir.

A division bench presided over by Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam observed that no significant progress had been made in the investigation by the Kolkata Police even as five days had passed since the crime had been committed. The court also reminded the agitating doctors of their “pious obligation” to treat patients and urged them to call off the cease work they launched to protest the rape and murder of the young medic.

The HC ordered the Kolkata Police to hand over the case diary to the CBI on Tuesday and other related documents by Wednesday. The court directed the CBI to submit to it a report on the progress of the investigation after three weeks.

The victim’s body, with multiple injuries, was found in the Seminar Room of the Department of Chest Medicine on the fourth floor of the R G Kar Medical College and Hospital early on Friday. A civic volunteer – a member of the contractual staff of the Kolkata Police – was arrested for allegedly raping and murdering her.

The junior doctors and interns across West Bengal continued their cease-work protest on Tuesday. After a room adjacent to the seminar room, where the victim was found dead, was demolished for reconstruction, the agitating doctors called for the suspension of work in the out-patient department of all government hospitals in the state, alleging that an attempt was being made to destroy the evidence related to the crime.

Several civil society organisations of West Bengal called for a “reclaim the night” protest by the women on the streets across the state

The HC order for a CBI probe into the rape and murder of the young doctor came a day after the state’s Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, herself, said that her government would hand over the investigation to the central agency if the Kolkata Police could not show any considerable progress by next Sunday.

The parents of the victim had knocked on the door of HC with a petition seeking an independent investigation by a team of impartial officers under judicial supervision. Several other PILs (public interest litigations) had also been submitted to the court, urging an order to hand over the investigation to the CBI.

Though a civic volunteer was arrested by the Kolkata Police for allegedly raping and murdering the woman, the petitioners cited multiple injury marks on her body and expressed suspicion that the crime had been committed by multiple perpetrators.

The division bench of HC observed that it was “quite disturbing” that the police had registered a case of “an unnatural death” after the body was found.

“When the deceased victim was a doctor working at the hospital, it is rather surprising as to why the principal of the hospital administration did not lodge a formal complaint,” the court said when the lawyer representing the state government said that the case of unnatural death had been registered as it had been a normal practice to do so initially when no one had lodged a complaint alleging a murder.

The court took into account the apprehension of the petitioners about the possibility of the evidence being destroyed and the witnesses being influenced.

“Therefore, we deem it appropriate to transfer the investigation to the CBI,” the court said.

Sandip Ghosh, the principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, resigned from his post and government service on Monday, after being accused by the agitating doctors of failing to ensure the security of the healthcare professionals. He, however, was appointed as the principal of the National Medical College later on the same day. The protesting students of the National Medical College, however, did not allow him to join on Tuesday.

The court observed that it was disheartening to note that Ghosh had not been proactive after learning of the death of the trainee doctor. He was asked to go on a long leave by the court.