If Kolkata Police can’t crack RG Kar case by Sunday, will give it to CBI: Mamata
Kolkata: During her visit to the home of the late RG Kar Medical College and Hospital rape victim on Monday, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced that if the police fail to crack the case by Sunday (August 18), she will hand over the investigation of the postgraduate trainee doctor’s murder to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
She also said that the state government would seek the death penalty for the accused.
“I learnt about this news when I was in Jhargram. The Kolkata Police Commissioner informed me about it and I told him that it was a despicable incident. I said that whoever is behind the incident must be immediately arrested and we want this case to be fast-tracked in court. We will seek the death penalty for the accused,” Banerjee said after visiting the house of the deceased doctor at around 12.45 pm. She spoke with the parents and relatives of the deceased.
She also pointed out that the CBI’s track record is poor in connection with several cases but the state would hand over the case to the CBI for the satisfaction of the people. Reminding that her government has “nothing to gain or lose” from this case, she said: “CBI probe was carried out in Singur’s Tapasi Malik’s incident, Rizwanur Rahman case, and also in the Rabindranath Tagore’s Nobel prize theft incident but cases were not resolved. Kolkata Police is the best in the world and best officers have been deployed. Despite that, we will hand over the case to the CBI by Sunday if the police are unable to solve it.”
She further pointed out: “The victim’s parents told me that some insiders might have been involved in the incident. Police will summon all who might have been related to the case. The principal resigned on Monday. We have already removed the medical superintendent of the hospital, head of the department of Chest and ACP of the police outpost. We have involved the forensic team, dog squad to crack the case.”
Meanwhile, facing the backlash of the incident, RG Kar Medical College and Hospital’s principal Sandip Ghosh resigned from his post on Monday. He said that he is a parent and after social media “propaganda” he has tendered his resignation.
“I cannot take this insult anymore. All the allegations raised against me are false and fabricated. A student movement has been incited to remove me. There is a political mind behind this. I had informed the police within an hour of the incident. CCTV footage has been handed over to police,” Ghosh said.
Health department on Monday evening issued an order saying that Ghosh would act as the principal of Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital.
However, a group of students at Calcutta National Medical College Hospital launched a protest against Ghosh. The protest began on Monday evening at the Medical College campus, where the students locked the room designated for the principal. They, reportedly, declared that they would not accept Ghosh as the new principal of Calcutta National Medical College under any circumstances.
In a parallel development, the junior doctors, interns, and postgraduate trainees in various medical colleges in the city continued their strike for the fourth consecutive day leading to a partial disruption of hospital services. Many patients and their relatives faced difficulties as the doctors were staging a cease work. Health department has however deployed senior doctors to handle the crisis in various departments of all the medical colleges in the city.
Meanwhile, a two-member team of the National Commission for Women (NCW) this afternoon arrived in Kolkata and is scheduled to meet city Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal and the family members of the victim.
The body of the woman post-graduate trainee, who was allegedly raped and murdered inside a seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, was found on Friday morning.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee held meeting with Chief Secretary, Home Secretary, Kolkata Police Commissioner in presence of senior officials of Health department at Nabanna and took stock of the situation in hospitals over stir of junior doctors. She also learnt about the progress of investigation from the police commisioner.
