Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Aug 11: A torn Bluetooth earphone set helped the Kolkata police to identify and arrest the accused in the rape and murder of the 31-year old post-graduate trainee doctor at the West Bengal government-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in the heart of Kolkata on Friday night.
The accused, identified as Sanjay Roy, is an outsider who had easy access to several departments of the hospital due to his role as a civic volunteer in the police welfare board. Sources said that Roy was arrested after his activities were found to be quite suspicious. Sources indicate that Roy had a history of inappropriate behaviour with women within the hospital.
The police sources said the accused’s earphones were a crucial clue that led to his arrest. CCTV footage showed Roy wearing the Bluetooth earphones while entering the hospital, but it was missing when he left. Police recovered the torn part of the earphone and were able to connect it to the suspect, helping them crack the case. Other postgraduate trainees and female doctors also identified Roy from CCTV footage captured in various parts of the hospital.
The semi-nude body of the 31-year-old doctor raped and murdered while on night duty bore multiple injury marks suggesting violent assault. An initial autopsy report has revealed. “There was bleeding from both her eyes and mouth, injuries over the face and nail. The victim was also bleeding from her private parts. She also has injuries in her belly, left leg… neck, in her right hand, ring finger and… lips,” the report said. It also ruled out suicide.
“This is definitely not a case of suicide; the woman was murdered following sexual assault,” a police officer said. “Her neck bone was also found broken. It seems that she was first strangulated and then smothered to death. We are waiting for the full report of the autopsy,” the officer said.
When the 35-year old Roy was produced before the court, no lawyer agreed to take up his case in view of his heinous crime that has shaken the state and sparked massive protests by doctors. The Opposition has targeted the Mamata Banerjee government over the incident while the ruling Trinamool Congress has responded that it was leaving no stone unturned to ensure strict punishment for the perpetrator and said it was open to a central agency investigation too.
The victim was a postgraduate trainee of chest medicine and was on night duty when the incident took place. Her body was found on Friday morning at a seminar hall of the hospital. A doctor at the hospital said, “She had dinner with her juniors around 2 am. She then went to the seminar room since there is no separate on-call room to take some rest. In the morning, we found her body there.”
The accused, according to multiple reports, is a civic volunteer. The police, however, refused to confirm this and said he was only a criminal for them. The Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has assured that she would seek death penalty for the perpetrator.
Ms Banerjee’s nephew and Trinamool general secretary Abhishek Banerjee has said those convicted in such cases should be given “capital punishment or encountered.” “The Centre should bring in an ordinance calling for immediate action against such culprits. This could be made into an amendment after six months,” he said, assuring that the Trinamool would support such a law. He hoped that the other Opposition parties, including the Congress and the Left, would have no objection either.
Mr Banerjee said such a law would prevent prolonged trials that can last five to six years and save taxpayers’ money. “These rapists, who don’t deserve to live in society, should be dealt with either through encounter or by hanging,” he said.
After the victim’s body was recovered in the seminar hall, the police set up a command centre in a hall at the college, equipped with 15 laptops to analyse CCTV footage hour by hour. Initial findings suggested the crime occurred between 4 am and 6 am, four hours after the victim had dinner. While examining the CCTV, officers noted Roy’s entry around 4 am, and upon reviewing the footage frame by frame, they observed that he exited the hospital without his earphones.
Police also questioned doctors and nurses on-site, gathering testimonies to establish Roy’s presence. Evidence collected included a broken Bluetooth earphone found at the crime scene. During interrogation, Roy exhibited signs of distress and later confessed to the crime. Additionally, police found pornographic content on his mobile phone, raising further concerns about his character.
In light of the RG Kar incident, Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal issued a special advisory emphasizing the need for enhanced safety measures for women in government hospitals. The advisory calls for identifying crime-prone zones, increasing police presence, and installing CCTV cameras with the help of private entities. It also stresses the importance of involving more female officers to address safety concerns effectively.
The incident has sparked outrage among the medical community, with junior doctors and medical staff across hospitals in West Bengal staging protests demanding better security and accountability for the accused.
“We are extremely sad and angered because of the incident. We are with the family members and doctors. We are following a transparent investigation process. If there is any demand from the family for a probe by some other agency, we have no problem,” the police commissioner said. The autopsy, conducted in the presence of a magistrate, was videographed and her family members were present as witnesses.
The police have formed a seven-member special investigation team (SIT) along with the forensics team. It is being headed by the Deputy Commissioner of the Detective Department and supervised by a senior cop in the rank of Additional Commissioner of Police.
Students have raised concerns over their safety and security on the campus after the shocking incident. BJP activists had held demonstrations at the hospital over the incident, but students have maintained they won’t allow politics inside the hospital campus.
The incident has also sparked a political slugfest with both BJP and CPM ruling out police probe as inadequate. “The arrest could be an eyewash. Only a CBI probe can uncover the truth and deliver justice,” state BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar. The ruling Trinamool has urged against politicisation of the issue.
Meanwhile, the doctors and nurses of another state-run hospital in Purba Bardhaman district on Saturday demonstrated, alleging that a patient had threatened a woman medic if his treatment was delayed. The patient, in an inebriated condition, entered the emergency ward of the Bhatar State General Hospital and threatened the lady doctor that she would face the same consequence that a trainee medic had experienced in a Kolkata hospital.
A Purba Bardhaman district health official said, “The patient allegedly told the attending doctor that if the medic did not treat him properly, he would ensure the same treatment as the woman doctor of R G Kar Hospital in Kolkata witnessed. The doctor, as part of her duty and medical ethics, did not stop the treatment, and she discussed the matter with other staffers. Today, they came in a group to the CMOH office and demanded punishment of the man and security for the health personnel,” the official said.
