NEW DELHI: A fresh controversy has erupted in the case of the rape and murder of a trainee PG doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. Left-wing groups and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have accused the hospital authorities of attempting to tamper with evidence related to the incident.
The Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) and Students’ Federation of India (SFI), both affiliated with the CPI(M), have raised concerns over renovation work that began near the seminar room where the doctor’s body was discovered just days earlier.
These groups, along with the other medical students, gathered at the hospital’s Emergency building gate to protest, alleging that the renovation was an attempt to destroy crucial evidence and protect those responsible for the crime.
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A doctor associated with the Left-affiliated Joint Forum of Doctors claimed that the postmortem report indicated that the victim might have been raped by multiple individuals. “It is clear that this is not the work of a single individual… she was gang-raped,” said Dr Subarna Goswami, who was with the victim’s family when they reviewed the postmortem report, according to sources.
Amit Malviya, head of the BJP’s IT cell, accused the West Bengal government of indifference and the Kolkata Police of attempting a cover-up. He alleged, “RG Kar Medical College authorities break down room walls, inside the Chest Medicine Dept, where the on-duty junior doctor was subjected to brutal rape and murder, destroying what could be crucial circumstantial evidence, which could have led the CBI investigating team to the murderers”.
While West Bengal is seething with anger, given Mamata Banerjee’s apathy and Kolkata Police’s botched cover-up attempt, RG Kar Medical College authorities break down room walls, inside the Chest Medicine Dept, where the on-duty junior doctor was subjected to brutal rape and… pic.twitter.com/j2mJyziwNt
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) August 13, 2024
DYFI state secretary Minakshi Mukherjee, who participated in the protests at the hospital, accused the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government of trying to shield the real culprits.
BJP MLA and Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, also weighed in, stating, “They have already tampered with a lot of evidence. The CBI has to take the case immediately. We have already demanded the resignation of Mamata Banerjee, who is both Chief Minister and the state Home Minister.”
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In response to growing public outcry and political pressure, a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) team has arrived in Kolkata to take over the investigation, as ordered by the Calcutta High Court. The CBI team includes specialised medical and forensic experts from Delhi.
The High Court ordered the CBI investigation on Tuesday, following the August 9 sexual assault and murder of the woman post-graduate trainee (PGT) doctor. The case has sparked widespread outrage and calls for swift justice all over the country.