RG Kar case: CM refutes claims of police bribing victim’s family

Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday refuted the allegations that Kolkata Police tried to bribe the victim’s family into silence over the rape and murder of their daughter at RG Kar Medical College & Hospital while asserting that Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal cannot step down at this moment keeping in view the upcoming Durga Puja security arrangements.

The father of the 32-year-old junior doctor had accused the police of attempting to cover up the case by offering them money in an attempt to silence them and hush up the investigation.

Banerjee said the bribery allegations were part of a smear campaign against her government. “I have never offered any money to the deceased doctor’s family. This is nothing but slander,” Banerjee said during an administrative review meeting at Nabanna. Calling such accusations “defamatory”, she added that the Residential Doctor’s Forum on August 11 had issued a statement where they demanded adequate compensation for the victim’s family.

“We had told the family members that money cannot compensate for death but suggested that if at any point of time they wanted to do anything in memory of their daughter, the state government will extend assistance,” she maintained.

Trinamool Congress, however, released a video of the victim’s father refuting the bribery allegations. In the video, the father was purportedly heard calling such bribery claims “baseless rumours”.

Millennium Post has not verified the authenticity of the video in question. Amidst demands that Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal must step down for the alleged failure of police, Banerjee said: “Kolkata Police Commissioner has come to me several times last week and offered to resign. We have pujo coming up. Someone who is aware of law and order has to be there.” Banerjee also blamed the BJP-led Centre and Left left-leaning parties for exploiting the situation. “We are fulfilling all the requirements of CISF (deployed for security at RG Kar). However, every day fresh requests related to their accommodation keep coming. This is all a conspiracy hatched by the central government and some leftist parties,” she added.