‘No progress’: Calcutta High Court hands over doctor’s rape, murder case to CBI

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 13

The Calcutta High Court today ordered a CBI probe into the alleged rape and murder of a woman junior doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata last week.

The direction was passed in the wake of a petition moved by the victim’s parents praying for a court-monitored probe and multiple other PILs seeking shifting of the probe to the CBI. Hours after the high court’s direction, the CBI swiftly completed all formalities and took over the investigation into the case.

A team of CBI officials from Delhi along with forensic scientists and medical experts will visit Kolkata on Wednesday, officials said.

Earlier in the day, the high court ordered the state police to hand over the case diary to the CBI by 10 am on Wednesday, amid allegations of a botched probe and cover-up as well as protests and strikes by doctors over the incident.

The HC order came five days after the gruesome incident came to light. The body of the postgraduate trainee with severe injury marks all over was found inside the seminar hall of the state-run hospital’s chest department on Friday morning.

While transferring the case from the police to the CBI, a Division Bench led by Justice TS Sivagnanam said it was being done as there had been no significant progress in the investigation. He also urged the protesting doctors to call off their strike.

“We are truly appreciative of feelings of the doctors of RG Kar Medical College. But we appeal to them to consider calling off the agitation so that people coming to the hospital for treatment are not prejudiced,” the Bench said.

The Bench also questioned the administration for not filing a murder case in the incident in the initial stage. Justice Sivagnanam asked how principal Sandip Ghosh was appointed as the principal of another medical college, hours after he stepped down from post at the hospital where the incident occurred. He said Ghosh should be sent on leave.

On Monday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee gave a deadline to the Kolkata police to crack the case by August 18, failing which the case would be transferred to the CBI.

Meanwhile demanding justice, medicos held protests across the country, although the Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association (FORDA) called off its strike late in the evening after a meeting with Union Health Minister JP Nadda. Another body FAIMA, and the Resident Doctors Association at AIIMS and Safdarjung hospitals in Delhi decided to continue the strike.

AIIMS-Delhi, which gets 10,000 OPD patients a day, saw a 20 per cent reduction in registration. A team from the Indian Medical Association on Tuesday met Nadda, Union Health Secretary Apurva Chandra and Director General of Health Services Dr Atul Goel.

During the meeting, a memorandum of demands was submitted. Among other things, it sought declaration of hospitals across the country as safe zones.

Nadda said the incident was heart-wrenching and accused the West Bengal Government of hiding it.

“Bengal has become a state where there is no such thing as law and order, lawlessness is at its peak and the sad thing is that atrocities on women are increasing day by day in the state and all this is happening despite having a woman Chief Minister,” he said.

Nadda welcomed the high court’s decision to hand over the case to the CBI.

“I am confident that the CBI inquiry will bring out the truth. Many delegations of doctors have met us in the last two days. I have assured everyone that the Centre will take action against anyone connected with the incident,” he said. (With PTI inputs)