Kolkata Rape and Murder: CBI Claims it Found “Everything Altered” when it Took over Probe ‘
Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Aug 22: Even as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) which is probing the Kolkata doctor rape and murder case, told the Supreme Court on Thursday that “everything was altered” by the time the central agency was handed the investigation on Day 5, the Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud urged the counsels for the Centre and West Bengal governments not to politicise the horrific incident and stressed that the law was taking its course.
The Chief Justice made the observation during a heated exchange between Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta and Bengal government’s counsel Kapil Sibal during the hearing on the rape and murder of the trainee postgraduate doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on August 9.
Mr Sibal requested the court to take steps so that inciting statements are not made. To this, Mr Mehta responded, “Nobody should make any statement. We have the statement of a sitting minister of the state of West Bengal. This is something very serious. (The minister said) that if anybody speaks anything against leader, fingers will be chopped off.”
In response, Mr Sibal said, “Then I will read the Leader of the Opposition’s statement, ‘Bullets will be fired’ is what he said. Suvendu (Adhikari) has said.” “Please don’t politicise this, the law will take its course. We are ensuring that the law does take its course after a quick and efficient investigation,” the Chief Justice said.
The CBI and Kolkata Police submitted separate status reports on Thursday in compliance with the apex court’s Tuesday directive. The central agency’s submission related to the probe into the 31-year-old doctor’s rape and murder, while the city police provided an update on the investigation into the mob vandalism at the Kolkata hospital in the early hours of August 15.
The central probe agency flagged issues with the date and time recorded by the Kolkata Police. The CBI also informed the court that former RG Kar principal, who they were questioning, was linked to several financial irregularities in the medical college and he had allegedly rented the surveillance cameras in the facility instead of buying them.
“One aspect is the Daily Diary (DD) entry by Kolkata Police was made at 10:10 am, but the crime scene was secured only in the late evening. It’s disturbing,” SG Mehta told the three-judge bench headed by the CJI and also comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra.
To this, the court asked Kapil Sibal when the post-mortem was conducted. Sibal responded saying that the autopsy was done between 6:10 to 7:10 pm.
The court said as the body was taken for autopsy, it was a case of unnatural death. The court then asked Sibal when the inquest panchnama was drawn.
Following questioning, the apex court observed that the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) guidelines to handle a case of unnatural death were not followed by the Kolkata Police. The court asked Sibal to bring along the police officer responsible who could apprise the court of what exactly happened after the body was discovered. Justice JB Pardiwala then commented, “The entire procedure followed by your state (West Bengal) is something which I have not come across in the 30 years of my career.”
The Supreme Court said though the crime took place in the night, the crime scene was secured after more than 18 hours around 7 pm on August 9 after the post-mortem of the body. The court said, “See it is clear that an unnatural death case was registered at 11:30 pm after the officer came back to the police station. This is after the post-mortem.”
The apex court then orally suggested the CBI to look into the irregularity. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said that the FIR was registered at 11:45 am after the body’s cremation, and the videography was only conducted after senior doctors and the victim’s colleagues insisted, indicating they also suspected foul play. Supreme Court also directed the Kolkata Police officer, who registered the first entry about the rape-murder incident, to appear at the next hearing to disclose the time.
During the hearing of the case on Tuesday, after taking suo-motu cognisance of the case, the SC bench had pulled up the West Bengal government and criticised the role of the state police and the former principal of the institution, Sandip Kumar Ghosh. The bench also questioned the role of Ghosh and said it seemed there was an attempt to pass off the murder as a suicide.
The Supreme Court said the delay in filing the FIR in the Kolkata doctor’s rape-murder case cannot be justified and again questioned the role of Dr Sandip Ghosh. Responding to Kapil Sibal’s submission that Kolkata Police followed the procedure to a tee, Chief Justice Chandrachud said, “Procedure is a separate issue, but the point remains. What is the reason the FIR is lodged almost 14 hours after the discovery of the (body). The most important thing is that the principal of the college should have come straightaway to the college and directed the filing of the FIR. Who was he in touch with?”
“The moment he tenders the resignation, he is appointed as principal of another college” the Chief Justice asked. Mr Sibal said the state will respond to this matter separately.
Mr Sibal also sought protection for the state government so that it can tackle future protests. To this, the Chief Justice asked, “How can we protect the State?” Mr Sibal then cited the court’s earlier direction that the state will not take coercive action on peaceful protests. “We have not for a moment said the requisite provisions of laws should not be complied with. What we meant was stop arresting people who are…,” the Chief Justice replied.
The bench clarified that while the court had permitted peaceful protests, it should not be misconstrued to mean that State cannot lawfully use its power. “However, we categorically reaffirm that peaceful protests shall not be disturbed and disrupted and the State shall not take any action against those peacefully protesting against the incident which took place in RG Kar Hospital,” the bench said.
The court was hearing a bench of petitions relating to the chilling rape and murder of the 31-year-old medico at the state-run hospital. Kolkata Police arrested an accused, a civic volunteer named Sanjoy Roy, a day after the incident. However, days later, the Calcutta High Court transferred the case to the CBI, noting no significant progress in the city police’s probe. The CBI is yet to make any arrest in the case. The horrific incident has shaken the country with nationwide protests going on demanding prompt action in the investigation.
The CBI, meanwhile, continued to grill the former principal for the seventh day on Thursday. The agency sleuths so far have questioned some 25 persons also summoned various other top authorities of the hospital, including its current superintendent and vice-principal Bulbul Mukhopadhyay and her predecessor Sanjay Vasishth, for questioning.
