"There May Be Nexus": CBI To Court After Cop's Arrest In Kolkata Horror

Dr Sandip Ghosh, former principal of Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College, spoke to Tala Police station's officer-in-charge Abhijit Mondal in the hours after a 31-year-old doctor was found dead on the hospital premises, and there may be a nexus and that needs to be uncovered, CBI told a Kolkata court today.

The central agency last night arrested Mr Mondal under charges of tampering with evidence in the rape-murder case that has shaken the country. Dr Ghosh, arrested earlier in a financial irregularities case, also faces the evidence tampering charge now.

The two were produced in court today and were remanded in CBI's custody for two days. The case will be heard next on September 17.

"The FIR was registered at night. We have call records that show communication between the OC and Sandip Ghosh. There may be a nexus and we need to uncover the case. We want to confront both of them," the CBI's counsel told the court.

"There is no clash between CBI and police. We want to get to the truth. For us he is not a police officer, he is a suspect," the counsel added.

Both the Calcutta High Court and the Supreme Court have questioned the delay in the registration of the FIR, which was filed over 14 hours after the doctor's body was found. The courts have asked why the hospital administration then led by Dr Ghosh did not register a police complaint that would have ensured the filing of an FIR.

"He was under an obligation to register to FIR. They tried to downplay it as suicide. There was a lapse on his part. It was a case of sexual assault and he should have handled it cautiously. He was in a conspiracy with other people," the CBI told the court today.

The lawyer for Mr Mondal replied, "They allege there was a delay. They don't say whether I am an accused or a witness. There is no ground for arrest here. This is at best a case of alleged dereliction of duty. For that, a departmental inquiry could have been done."

The CBI told the court that Mr Mondal is not an accused in the rape and murder, but may have played a role in a larger conspiracy of an alleged cover-up.

These are the CBI's first two arrests in the rape and murder case over their month-long investigation. Earlier, Kolkata Police arrested civic volunteer Sanjoy Roy in the case. The CBI took Roy's custody after the high court transferred the probe to the central agency.

The Trinamool, under fire over the rape-murder incident, has been questioning what progress the CBI has made since it took over.