Police Denies Extension Of Doctors' Protest In Kolkata Rape-Murder Case

Kolkata Police have denied permission to a doctors' association seeking an extension of their protest in the RG Kar rape and murder case.

The protest has been going on to condemn the failure of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to present a charge sheet against Sandip Ghosh and Abhijit Mondal, who are accused of tampering with the evidence in the ghastly rape and murder of a junior doctor of state-run R.G. Medical College and Hospital.

The sit-in protest at Doreena Crossing organised by the West Bengal Joint Platform of Doctors, an umbrella association of doctors practising in the state, is supposed to end in the evening.

A member of the doctor's body said they forwarded a communique on Wednesday night to the city police for permission to extend the sit-in protest.

However, on Thursday, the city police replied to the doctors' email communique claiming the inability to give permission on certain grounds.

“We are weighing legal options available to ensure the extension of the demonstration. Initially, the city police even denied granting permission for the ongoing sit-in demonstration which is scheduled to end this afternoon. However, later we got permission for the same from the Calcutta High Court,” said a representative of the umbrella doctors' body.

On Wednesday, another doctors' body namely West Bengal Doctors Forum had written to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee seeking the change the name of “Doreena Crossing”, a popular protest point in the city, to “Abhaya Crossing”.

The victim junior doctor of the R.G Kar is referred to as “Abhaya” since the legal system of the country bars revealing the identity of any rape or rape-and-murder victim.

Recently, a special court in Kolkata granted “default bail” to the former and controversial principal of R.G. Kar Sandip Ghosh and the former SHO of Tala Police Station Abhijit Mondal as CBI failed to file the supplementary charge sheet against them within 90 days from the date of their arrests.

Both Ghosh and Mondal were accused of misleading the investigation and tampering with the evidence when the initial investigation was being carried out by Kolkata Police.

This week, a report from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) surfaced, which has created doubts about the “scene of crime” in the rape and murder case.

On the morning of August 9, 2024, the body of the victim was spotted at the seminar hall within the hospital premises of R.G. Kar and Hospital, accordingly, first the Kolkata Police and then CBI carried out the investigation considering the seminar hall as the “scene of crime”.

However, a report that CFSL has submitted to the CBI agency clearly stated that there is no evident sign of scuffle within the seminar room, sources said.

In fact, the CFSL report strengthens the apprehension raised by the section of the medical fraternity in the state since the beginning that the actual “scene of crime” was someplace else and after the rape and murder, the body was shifted to the seminar hall to mislead the investigation.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)