R G Kar rape-murder victim's parents move court seeking probe into 'larger conspiracy' angle

Kolkata: The parents of a woman medic, who was raped and murdered inside state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in August 2024, on Tuesday moved a court here pleading for the custodial interrogation of those present with her during the night shift on the day of the incident to probe the "larger conspiracy" angle. Expressing dissatisfaction over the CBI probe, which stated that civic volunteer Sanjay Roy was the sole perpetrator, the victim's parents said the Kolkata Police officer who was involved in the initial investigation should also be questioned to probe the "larger conspiracy angle" which was "overlooked" in both the investigations conducted by the city police and the central agency. "We are of the firm view that only Sanjay Roy cannot be the sole person involved in brutalising our daughter, who was killed while performing her duty at her workplace. There were a few others, and we pray before the Sealdah court that all of them, including a Kolkata Police officer, be taken into custody and interrogated," her father told reporters.

He said though the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has claimed that a polygraph test had conclusively proven the involvement of only Sanjay Roy, such a test cannot be cited as irrefutable evidence, as mentioned in several past court orders in the country. "We have requested the court to look into our petition and the larger conspiracy theory. The petition has been accepted," he said. The distraught parents had recently participated in a rally on the birth anniversary of the victim. Her father had earlier told media reporters, "Our fight will continue till all those involved in the heinous crime are identified and brought to the book. The CBI has failed us. We will move the court demanding justice." He had alleged that the CBI was also trying to tamper with the evidence. The incident triggered a nationwide outrage as a large number of people, a sizeable number of them women, took to the streets and mass protests continued for several months. The West Bengal Junior Doctors' Front also held indefinite sit-ins and a hunger strike in Kolkata for several days. Roy, a suspended civic police staffer, is at present serving a life sentence till death after conviction.