Kolkata Doctor Death: Top Cop Confirms Sexual Assault, SIT Formed As Protests Continue

A semi-nude body of a woman doctor was found under mysterious circumstances on the fourth floor of the emergency building of RG Kar Medical College in West Bengal’s Kolkata on Friday morning. The victim, a second-year postgraduate student of the medical college, was found dead inside the Seminar Hall on the 3rd floor of the campus. She was on duty on Thursday night.

One suspect, named Sanjay Roy, has been arrested in the case on Saturday.

Police Commissioner confirms sexual assault

Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Kumar Goyal on Saturday confirmed that the student was a victim of sexual assault. He said that an SIT has been formed by the police to probe the matter. The postmortem took place in presence of the judicial magistrate. He also assured the victim’s family saying that if they feel any other agency should will investigate the case, the police is open for that too.

Additional Commissioner of Police Murli Dhar said, “We have registered a case under Section 103 (1) and 64, BNS (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita) 2023. It is a case of homicide as well as sexual assault. Our investigation is going in the right direction in a transparent manner. Whatever further developments will be there, we will let you know as much as the law permits.”

Students protest

The students of RG Kar Medical College took out a candle march in the metropolis as a mark of protest over the heinous crime. A section of junior doctors has also declared that they will not work because of the prevalent lack of security in the hospital. The protesting doctors also claimed that only the emergency ward of the hospital will be open.

PGT doctors at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital have stopped work in all departments, except the emergency ward. Several student associations also took out a rally, demanding a swift probe into her death.

A senior member of the Association of Health Service Doctors, Dr Manas Gumta, alleged that there were attempts to “suppress” the matter.

Nurses in Kolkata also rallied demanding justice for the victim on Saturday.

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BJP demands CBI probe

The opposition BJP has demanded a CBI investigation and re-postmortem of the body by a Central Government hospital. BJP MLA Agnimitra Paul alleged that if the postmortem is done under the state system, the truth will be buried.

“The condition in which her body was found, completely naked with bruises all over it, makes it look like she was raped and then murdered. We demand a CBI investigation. You can’t conduct a postmortem after the evening, but they did it here…If postmortem is done under the state system, truth will be buried. We want a re-postmortem by a Central Government hospital. This is all we demand so that she gets justice,” she said.

BJP leader Amit Malviya accused the Mamata Banerjee government in the state of “hiding the crime”. He also claimed that Kolkata Police was instructed to “cover-up” the alleged murder of the woman doctor and “show it as suicide”.

Trinamool Congress MP Sougata Roy, however assured full transparency in investigation and said that the accused will be soon held and punished.

“I came to know that this girl is from our constituency…I have seen all the papers and investigated things…We hope that the accused will be soon arrested and punished…” he said.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also spoke to the parents of victim on Friday.

What does initial autopsy reveal?

The initial autopsy of the post-graduate trainee doctor indicated that she was murdered after being sexually assaulted, police said. It also ruled out suicide, adding that a case has now been registered at the Tala Police Station.

“This is definitely not a case of suicide; the woman was murdered following sexual assault,” a police officer told PTI.

According to the four-page report, there was bleeding from the woman’s private parts, with injury marks in other parts of the body.

“Her neck bone was also found broken. It seems that she was first strangulated and then smothered to death. There was bleeding from both her eyes and mouth, injuries over the face and nail. The victim was also bleeding from her private parts. She also has injuries in her belly, left leg… neck, in her right hand, ring finger and… lips,” it said.

Two lady witnesses and the woman’s mother were present during the autopsy, which was conducted on-camera.

Teams formed to probe the case

The hospital has formed a 11-member enquiry committee for this incident. Additionally, the Kolkata Police has formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT), including members of the homicide department, among others, to probe the crime.

Family alleges rape

The victim’s father has alleged that she was raped and murdered inside the campus and efforts are on to “hide the truth”.

A doctor of the hospital, who did not want to be named, said, “She had dinner with her juniors around 2 am. She then went to the seminar room since there is no separate on-call room to take some rest. In the morning, we found her body there.” Five people, who were on duty with her on Thursday night, have been interrogated, police said.

(With inputs from agencies)