Suvendu Adhikari had filed a PIL in the high court, seeking a CBI probe into the case
The BJP has welcomed the Calcutta High Court's order to transfer to the CBI the investigation into the rape and murder of a doctor in Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. The horrifying incident has sparked nationwide protests as doctors demand safety and security on duty.
Suvendu Adhikari, Leader of the Opposition in Bengal Assembly, had filed a Public Interest Litigation in the high court, seeking a CBI probe into the case.
Responding to the court's ruling, Mr Adhikari said in a social media post that the "last bastion of justice" in Bengal has come forward. "In a PIL filed by me along with two others, the cat and mouse game that the State Government was playing to save the skin of the perpetrators by conjuring a cover-up story and a scapegoat, will no longer hold water. The culprits will be caught and punished now," the BJP leader said.
The Mamata Banerjee administration, he alleged, had failed to protect the life of a hardworking doctor and tried to cover up a gruesome crime against a woman. "The Hon'ble (high court) has come down heavily on the Kolkata Police Commissioner as well as the Principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital and has exposed the dirty game that they were playing in cahoots with influential persons in the State Administration," he said.
"Now that the CBI has taken over the investigation, I have complete faith on the CBI to bring out the truth and put those responsible for snatching away a young daughter from her parents and a competent Doctor from the fraternity. May truth prevail. My prayers for the kindred soul who departed untimely," Mr Adhikari added.
A bench headed by Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam today flagged lapses by the hospital administration after the doctor's body was found in a seminar hall on Friday morning. The court noted that Dr Sandip Ghosh, then principal of the college, was not proactive in dealing with the situation. The administration of the hospital, he said, was not with the victim or her family. The court also questioned why Dr Ghosh, who resigned in the face of protests over the doctor's rape-murder, was given a new job as the head of the another college within hours.
The high court noted that under "normal circumstances", it would have given more time to state police to complete their probe. "Even after five days there have been no significant conclusions which should have happened by now. Therefore, we are justified that there is every possibility that evidence will be destroyed. We deem it appropriate that the case must be transferred to CBI with immediate effect," the court said.
Chief Minister Banerjee had earlier said that the state government will recommend a CBI probe if Kolkata Police cannot complete its investigation by Sunday. She had said she has no objection to a central agency probe and that the state government has nothing to hide.