Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Aug 14: The investigation over the gruesome rape and murder of the trainee postgraduate doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata has taken a new twist with the post-mortem report confirming the presence of a huge amount of semen in the victim’s body suggesting a gang rape.
The Kolkata police on the very first day of the crime on August 9 had arrested one person, a civic police volunteer Sanjoy Roy, for the crime and since then there was no progress in the investigation, The Kolkata police had maintained that it probably was the solo job of Roy but the new turn of events would force the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) which has taken over the probe into the case from the Kolkata police at the behest of Calcutta High Court, would have to look for other possible culprits.
The parents of the victim girl also told the court the post-mortem report had unequivocally stated that the cause of death was strangulation of the neck and that there are clear signs of sexual assault. “Petitioners state that the post-mortem report provided devastating details that confirmed their worst fears. Their daughter’s body bore several injury marks, indicating a brutal and violent attack,” said the petition. They have also told the court that the kind of injuries inflicted on her body, the amount of semen about 150 mg found in her body and the scars on the body clearly indicated that the victim had to desperately fight against more than one person.
Several portions of the victim’s head showed signs of trauma. “Both ears exhibited signs of injury, suggesting a violent struggle. Her lips were injured, indicating that she may have been silenced or gagged during the attack,” the petition added. It also said bite marks were found on her neck, underlining the severity of the assault.
On the political front, after a day Priyanka Gandhi Vadra made cautious comment on the rape-murder of the Kolkata doctor that has left the country in turmoil, Rahul Gandhi’s post on social media on Wednesday raised questions about the handling of the matter by the “local administration” in the state ruled by ally Trinamool Congress.
“The attempt to save the accused instead of providing justice to the victim raises serious questions on the hospital and the local administration,” read the post by Mr Gandhi, strongly condemning the attack. “This incident has forced us to think that if doctors are not safe in a place like medical college, then how can parents send their daughters outside for studies? Why are even the strict laws made after the Nirbhaya case unsuccessful in preventing such crimes? Every party, every section of the society will have to hold serious discussions and take concrete steps on the continuously increasing incidents against women from Hathras to Unnao, and from Kathua to Kolkata,” he said.
Comparing it to the Nirbhaya case in which a 23-year-old died over a decade ago after being tortured in a horrifying manner in a running bus in Delhi, he added, “The way the layers of the cruel and inhuman act against her are being revealed, there is an atmosphere of insecurity among the doctors’ community and women.”
Ms Gandhi Vadra broke the Congress’s silence on the issue on Tuesday describing it as “heartbreaking” and had appealed to the Trinamool Congress government for “swift and strict action.” “The sexual assault and murder of a trainee doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College is heartbreaking. The safety of women at workplace is a huge issue that requires serious efforts. I appeal to the state government for swift and strictest action so that the victim’s family and other doctors get justice,” read her post on X.
Mr Gandhi’s criticism comes as pressure is mounting on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s government over the horrific murder at the premier state-run hospital in Kolkata. Not only has the BJP, the Left and leaders of the state Congress — traditional rivals of Ms Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress — censured the state government, the matter has also left the civil society shaken.
Women — the strongest constituency of Mamata Banerjee — who had ignored the Sandeshkhali incident and voted overwhelmingly for the party in the recent Lok Sabha election, are holding a midnight march today which is being backed by some of her own party members. Under the circumstances, criticism from Mr Gandhi, a national ally, could magnify the sting.
The 31-year-old postgraduate doctor had fallen asleep in a seminar room on Thursday night. Early on Friday morning, her partially clothed body, bearing multiple injuries, was found. The prime suspect is Sanjoy Roy who was stationed at the police outpost at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital and had access to all departments.
He was arrested on basis of CCTV footage that showed him entering the building where the doctor was found murdered. A Bluetooth headset found next to the woman’s body was seen on his neck in the CCTV footage. It was found to be paired with his phone as well. Local media has reported that the man admitted to the crime readily. “Hang me if you want,” the local media quoted him as saying to the police. But there is speculation that the circumstances do not indicate that this is an open and shut case. The unanswered questions and discrepancies have spawned multiple conspiracy theories.
Before the case was transferred to CBI, state police had arrested Sanjoy Roy. “No step taken to arrest any other offenders while the evidence clearly indicates that their daughter was the victim of a gang rape and murder, a crime that could not have been committed by one person alone,” the parents’ petition said.
The parents also underlined that the then principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital and other stakeholders who were responsible for the victim’s safety on the premises are yet to be apprehended. In its order to transfer the probe to CBI, the high court came down heavily on the hospital administration and especially its former principal Dr Sandip Ghosh. The court questioned why the hospital authorities did not file a police complaint after the doctor was found dead. It also pulled up the state government for appointing Dr Ghosh as principal of another medical college within hours after he resigned as the head of RG Kar Medical College.
In their petition, the victim’s parents have also said “they have come to learn through reliable sources that evidence exists on record suggesting that at least three individuals were involved in the strangulation of their daughter”. “The significant amount of semen found in her body further supports the involvement of multiple perpetrators,” they told the court.
The autopsy, they alleged, was conducted hastily. “Improper autopsy was done with a view to shield the others involved in their daughter’s death,” they said in the petition. The state government’s counsel had told the high court on Tuesday that the victim’s inquest was conducted in the presence of a Judicial Magistrate and two lady doctors. The inquest report was also signed by the victim’s mother, the state counsel said. State police have maintained that they had shared the post-mortem report with the victim’s family.
The post-mortem, too, was conducted in the presence of a Judicial Magistrate and the entire process was videographed to ensure there are no allegations of foul play, police officers said. A copy of the post-mortem report was also shared with the family members to ensure their concerns were addressed, they said.
Following the Calcutta High Court order yesterday, officials of the CBI have taken over the case and Sanjoy Roy, the accused, is now in the central agency’s custody. The CBI team, which also comprises medical and forensic experts, have been split into three groups. One will visit the seminar hall where the doctor’s body was found, the other will take the accused to court and seek custody and a third will coordinate with Kolkata Police officers who were probing the case.
A team of senior CBI officers, who reached Kolkata on Wednesday promptly began its investigation into the case. “One group will visit the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, and talk to the witnesses and the doctors who were on duty on that night. Another team will take the arrested civic volunteer to a local court after medical tests and plea for his custody, while another will coordinate with the Kolkata Police sleuths who were conducting the investigation,” the CBI sources said.
The sources said the agency has filed an FIR under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) in New Delhi in connection with the alleged rape and murder of the doctor. “Today, our officers will seek the call details of the deceased woman and those on duty on that day. They may submit the FIR in a local court,” another central agency source said. The Kolkata Police handed over Sanjoy Roy to the CBI at the CGO Complex after his medical tests were conducted at the state-run SSKM Hospital.
Junior doctors across West Bengal continued to cease work on Wednesday, the sixth day on the trot, protesting against the incident and demanding justice for her. The ongoing protest affected the healthcare services and long queues of patients were seen at the outpatient departments (OPDs) of all government hospitals. The agitating junior doctors have been pressing for a magisterial probe into the killing of the woman doctor and the removal of senior officials from RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
The doctor’s family has narrated on camera the horrific details of the crime, saying when they saw her nude body, her legs were stretched 90 degrees apart. Details of the post-mortem report in the media suggested that there were cut marks on the victim’s hands and face. The reports indicated that a brutal blow caused shards of glass from her spectacles to break and enter her eyes. Injuries to the head and neck were reported. The reports of significant amount of liquid on her body comes at a time when questions are being asked about how many people were involved in the rape and murder of the junior doctor.
The BJP has demanded Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s resignation and touched upon the online chatter that the real culprit was being shielded because of his links to the ruling party. The TMC says the police have acted swiftly and that BJP was only trying to score a political point.