Kolkata Cops' Timeline In Doctor's Rape-Murder, And What Doesn't Add Up

The Kolkata Police yesterday submitted in Supreme Court a timeline of the events and its actions in the horrifying rape and murder of a 31-year-old doctor that has sparked nationwide protests. Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal stressed that the city police have followed procedure to a tee.

However, several points made by the city cops are at odds with the CBI's findings and what the victim's parents have said in their petition.

Here is a look at what Kolkata Police have said and the questions that remain

The Timeline

August 9, 9.30 am: A first year postgraduate trainee sees the victim's body from a distance. He informs his colleagues and senior doctors, who alert hospital authorities.

10.10 am: Tala police station receives information about the incident from a police outpost at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. The cops are told that the body of a woman is lying in an unconscious state on a wooden platform in a seminar room on the third floor of the emergency building. They are told the body is in half-naked condition. The information is entered as a General Diary Entry and cops leave for the spot.

10.30 am: Police officers reach the crime scene and take stock. Senior officers are informed and crime scene is secured.

10.52 am: The Assistant Superintendent of the hospital informs the victim's family and asks them to come quickly.

11.00 am: Homicide team reaches the spot.

12.25 pm: Photographer and videographer of the scientific wing of detective department reach the spot. The first photo of the body is taken at 12:29 pm. Fingerprint and footprint experts reach the spot too, so do several senior officers of Kolkata Police. The forensic team is called in.

12.44 pm: On-duty doctor examines the victim and declares her dead.

1.00 pm: Parents of the victim reach the hospital, meet authorities and are taken to the seminar room after 10 minutes.

1.47 pm: The medical certificate and death certificate of the victim are handed over to the police. Police officer notes injuries on the body, including on private parts, and an unnatural death case is recorded.

3.00 pm: The victim's family and colleagues demand inquest and post-mortem in the presence of a Judicial Magistrate and under videography, first verbally and then in a written form.

4.10 pm: Judicial Magistrate arrives, inquest carried out between 4:20 pm and 4:40 pm. The family and colleagues of the victim are present and the procedure is videographed.

6.10 pm - 7.10 pm: Post-mortem by a board of forensic doctors in presence of Judicial Magistrate. Family members and colleagues of the victim present and the procedure is videographed.

8.00 pm: Dog squad reaches the spot. Between 8:37 pm - 08:52 pm: 3D mapping of the crime scene is carried out.

8.30 pm - 10.45 pm: 40 exhibits seized by forensic team, this was videographed and local witnesses were present. Body is handed over the family after post-mortem.

11:45 pm: FIR registered based on the complaint by the victim's father under charges of rape and murder

Police have said examination of suspects and questioning of the victim's colleagues started on August 9. The next morning, at 10 am, the accused Sanjay Roy was arrested "after his prolonged examination and confession of guilt". He is the only arrest so far in the case, which is now being investigated by the CBI after a Calcutta High Court order.

The Big Questions

Confirmation of Death: According to the police timeline, the body was first spotted at 9.30 am and a doctor on duty confirms death at 12.44 pm -- more than three hours later. When the local police station is informed, they are told that a woman has been found unconscious. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta questioned this in Supreme Court yesterday, saying that a doctor is not needed to know if it is a dead body. "Doctors are informing police that there is an unconscious body."

The Suicide Angle: The victim's parents told the Calcutta High Court that they received a call from the hospital at 10.53 am and were informed that their daughter was unwell. Another call, at 11.15 am, informed that she had died by suicide. The Kolkata Police timeline mentions only one call and does not mention suicide at all.

Were Parents Made To Wait?: In their petition filed before the high court, the doctor's parents said they were made to wait for three hours before being allowed to see the body. The victim's mother has told the media that she begged the hospital authorities to let her see her daughter's body, but to no avail. But, according to the police timeline, the parents were taken to the seminar hall shortly after they reached the hospital. The West Bengal government's counsel also told the high court that the parents were not kept waiting.

Delay In Filing FIR: Both the Calcutta High Court and the Supreme Court have questioned why an unnatural death case was filed and the hospital authorities did not initiate a complaint on the basis of which an FIR could be filed. Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud yesterday said, "Procedure is a separate issue, but the point remains. What is the reason the FIR is lodged almost 14 hours after the discovery of the (body). The most important thing is that the principal of the college should have come straightaway to the college and directed the filing of the FIR."

The Crime Scene: According to the police timeline, the crime scene was secured at 10.30 am - an hour after the body was first spotted. Even after the mob vandalism at the hospital in the early hours of August 15, Kolkata Police asserted that the crime scene was secure. But, the CBI has refuted this. Arguing in the matter in Supreme Court yesterday, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said, "We entered the probe on the fifth day... The investigation itself was a challenge because the scene of offence was altered. The FIR was registered only after the cremation at 11:45 pm."