The Central Bureau of Investigation told a special court on Tuesday that there is no evidence so far indicating that the junior doctor found dead at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in August was gangraped, The Indian Express reported.
The central investigative agency, however, added that it is still investigating all possibilities.
The 31-year-old trainee doctor was raped and murdered at the state-run hospital on August 9. The incident sparked protests across the country.
Subsequently, unverified claims that the doctor was gangraped floating on social media. The Kolkata Police had arrested the main accused person, Sanjay Roy, on August 10. Roy was a civic volunteer attached with the city police.
The Kolkata Police was investigating the case till August 13, when the Calcutta High Court transferred the matter to the Central Bureau of Investigation.
On Tuesday, the central agency told the court in Kolkata’s Sealdah that the police did not seize Roy’s clothes for two days, which could have proved as strong evidence, reported The Times of India.
It also alleged that Sandip Ghosh, the principal of the medical institute at the time, and Tala police station officer-in-charge Abhijit Mondal had “malafide intentions”. The agency accused the two of aiming to “vitiate the evidence” and “vital data related to this case”.
The CBI arrested Ghosh on September 2 for alleged corruption at the medical college. While still in custody, he was arrested on September 14 on allegations that he tampered with evidence pertaining to the rape and murder of the doctor.
On the same day, the CBI also arrested Mondal, accusing him of tampering with evidence and delaying the first information report in the case.
The court on Tuesday extended the remand of Ghosh and Mondal till September 20, noting that their interrogation is continuing, according to The Indian Express.
Protesting doctors seek another meeting with government
On Wednesday, the junior doctors who are protesting against the rape and murder of their colleague sought another meeting with the state government saying that some of their demands remained unfulfilled, The Indian Express reported.
The West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front has been leading protests for more than a month seeking the resignation of Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal and senior state health department officials. The group has also demanded that the “threat culture” in West Bengal’s medical centres must end.
On Monday, after a meeting with the protesting doctors, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced that Goyal, Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Abhishek Gupta, Director of Medical Education Debashish Halder and Director of Health Services Koustav Nayek will be removed from their posts.
The chief minister told reporters that she had requested the junior doctors to return to work.
“They said they will discuss and decide,” she said. “We accepted four of the demands of the junior doctors.”
In a press conference on Tuesday night, the West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front announced that they will continue their cease work protest until “all demands are met”.
“…we would like to reiterate there were certain key points regarding our five-point demands which were left unresolved,” the group said in a letter to Chief Secretary Manoj Pant. “Particularly our fourth and fifth point, concerning the development of the healthcare system, safety, security and prevailing threat culture.”
The doctors said they were assured during their last meeting with Banerjee that a special task force would be formed to address their concerns.
They added: “We would like to sit in a meeting with you and other members of the task force today regarding the same. We are eagerly waiting for your positive response.”
Also read:
- Have the Kolkata rape-murder protests dented Mamata’s women support base?
- Why protesting doctors in Kolkata distance themselves from student body with RSS links
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