The half-naked body of a female doctor was mysteriously found on the fourth floor of the emergency building of RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata, West Bengal on Friday morning. The victim was a second-year graduate student at the school and was found dead in the seminar hall on the third floor of the campus. She was on duty Thursday night.
One suspect in the case, Sanjay Roy, was detained on Saturday.
student protest
Students of RG Kar Medical College held a candle march in the capital to protest against this heinous crime. Some junior doctors have also announced they will no longer work due to a general lack of safety in hospitals. The protesting doctors also claimed that only emergency wards of hospitals would be open.
PGT doctors at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital have stopped working in all departments except the emergency department. Several student societies also held rallies demanding a swift investigation into her death.
Dr Manas Gumta, a senior member of the Association of Doctors for Health Services, claimed there was an attempt to “suppress” the matter.
BJP demands CBI probe
The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party demanded a CBI investigation and a re-autopsy of the body by a central government hospital. BJP MLA Agnimitra Paul claimed that if the autopsy was conducted under the state system, the truth would be buried.
“Her body was found naked and bruised and looked like she had been raped and then murdered. We asked the CBI to investigate. You can't do an autopsy after night but they did it here… If An autopsy is done under the state system and the truth will be buried. We want a re-autopsy at the central government hospital so that she gets justice,” she said.
#watch | Second-year medical student found dead at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata West Bengal BJP MP Agnimitra Paul said: “Her body was found naked, bruised and looked Like being raped and then murdered. “We… pic.twitter.com/ljYPhqqvSV— ANI (@ANI) August 9, 2024
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Amit Malviya accused the Mamata Banerjee government in the state of “concealing crimes”. He also claimed that the Kolkata police were ordered to “cover up” the alleged murder of the female doctor and “treat it as a suicide”.
Trinamool Congress MP Sougata Roy, however, assured complete transparency in the investigation and said the accused would be detained and punished soon.
“I know the girl is from our constituency… I have seen all the documents and investigated the matter… We hope the accused will be arrested soon and punished…” he said.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also spoke to the parents of the victim on Friday.
What did the preliminary autopsy reveal?
Police said a preliminary autopsy on the graduate trainee doctor showed she was murdered after being sexually assaulted. It also ruled out the possibility of suicide and added that a case has now been registered at Tala police station.
“This is definitely not a case of suicide; the woman was murdered after being sexually assaulted,” a police officer told PTI.
The four-page report showed bleeding from the woman's private parts and signs of injuries to other parts of her body.
“Her neck bones were also found to be fractured. It appeared she had been strangled and then suffocated. Her eyes and mouth were bleeding, and there were injuries to her face and fingernails. The victim was also bleeding from her private parts. She His abdomen, left leg…neck, right hand, ring finger and…lips were also injured.
Two female witnesses and the woman's mother were present during the autopsy, which was conducted on camera.
A team was set up to investigate the case
The hospital has established an 11-member investigation committee into this incident. In addition, the Kolkata Police also formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT), including members of the homicide department, to investigate the crime.
Family accuses rape
The victim's father claims she was raped and murdered on campus and is working to “cover up the truth.”
A doctor at the hospital who asked not to be named said, “At around 2 a.m., she had dinner with her juniors. Then she went to the seminar room because there was no separate duty room to rest. In the morning, we found her there Her body. Police said five people who were on duty with her on Thursday night have been questioned.
(Based on input from each agency)
