Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Aug 10: As junior doctors and nurses in various government hospitals across West Bengal staged protest demonstrations against the alleged rape and murder of a post-graduate trainee doctor in the state-run RG Kar medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, the chief minister Mamata Banerjee assured the family members of the victim that her government would ensure the case was tried in the fast track court and would demand death penalty to the guilty.
She also urged the agitating junior doctors, who were demanding exemplary punishment for those involved in the heinous crime not to ignore the patients in the hospitals while committing that the government shared their sentiments and grief over the crime against their colleague. She called the incident “unfortunate and despicable” and said the anger of her colleagues was justified.
The post-mortem of the trainee doctor, who was found dead at the seminar room of the hospital on Friday night, has confirmed that she was sexually assaulted before being murdered, a senior police official said on Saturday. The second-year post-graduate medical student reportedly had a late dinner on Thursday after which she went to study in the seminar hall on the third floor of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. The 31-year-old was seen in an unconscious state the next morning.
A case of rape and murder has been registered and one person has been arrested in suspicion of his involvement in the case, the Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Kumar Goyal told reporters. “A board of three doctors conducted the post-mortem examination. The whole procedure was documented through videography. Students and family members were present as witnesses during the post-mortem proceedings,” Mr Goyal said.
“There were signs of sexual assault,” he added. According to sources, there were injuries on the woman’s private parts, face, lips, neck, stomach, fingers, and ankle. Mr Goyal also said a person has been arrested for his alleged involvement. “For us, he is the criminal of the highest order. We will see to it that he gets the punishment also of the highest order,” he said, adding that they have “strong” evidence against him.
The man is reportedly an outsider who had free access to the departments of the hospital.
The chief minister told the media, “I spoke to the victim’s family and assured them of proper action. I have directed for the case to be taken to a fast-track court. If needed, the accused will be hanged, even though I am not pro-capital punishment. They should be given the strictest punishment,” she said. She also urged the protesting doctors not to ignore the patients.
As the demand for a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) started surfacing from different quarters including the family member of the victim, Ms Banerjee said the government was open to any kind of the central agency probe in the matter. She said if the medical students and house staff of the hospital, who are on cease-work protest there, insist on an investigation by a different agency, her administration is open to that.
“We do not have anything to hide in this case. The person arrested in the matter will be produced at a fast-track court. We will seek capital punishment for the guilty. But if the agitating students want a probe by another agency, we are not against it. If there is a CBI probe, we have no problem since we do not have anything to hide,” the Chief Minister said.
She also said there would be an investigation into whether there were any lapses on the part of the hospital authorities in preventing such events. She also said there would be a probe on how the event could have taken place within the hospital premises despite CCTV machines being installed there,” the Chief Minister added.
The Leader of the opposition in the state Assembly Suvendu Adhikari, a BJP leader, has demanded a CBI inquiry into the death of the trainee doctor. “The body of the second-year postgraduate student at RG Kar Medical College, found dead inside the Seminar Hall on the 3rd floor of the emergency building under mysterious circumstances, reportedly had injury marks. Unconfirmed reports suggest signs of strangulation and traces of seminal fluid. This appears to be a clear case of murder, possibly involving rape. The case should be immediately transferred to the CBI,” he posted on X.
Criticizing the Mamata Banerjee-led government, he said, “Instead of addressing the issue seriously, the State Government has formed an 11-member inquiry committee, which bizarrely includes some interns. It seems the government is either trying to cover up its negligence or is not taking this matter seriously.” Mr Adhikari urged the student community, especially medical students, to protest “vigorously” against the State Government’s “complacent attitude.”
According to some reports, the person arrested in this connection was actually engaged by the Kolkata Police as a civic police volunteer. When asked about the job profile of the accused, Mr Goyal said, “For us he is a criminal of the highest order and we want highest punishment for him.” He added that CCTV cameras in the hospital has confirmed his presence at the hospital and accused had no business of being at the scene of the crime at such an odd hour. The family members of the deceased doctor had said hospital was unable to provide security to their daughter.
“Now, we are trying to find out who else was with him or he had someone else with him,” a police official said, adding that they might conduct necessary medical examinations on him. Two intern doctors were also questioned on Friday night as part of the ongoing investigation.
Referring to the incident, the BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya commented that women were not safe in West Bengal.