'If police can't solve…': Mamata's conditions for handing over Kolkata doctor rape-murder case to CBI

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said the government will hand over the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) if the state police fail to solve the murder and rape case of a trainee doctor by Sunday, August 18.

“I hope the police arrest the accused soon. However, if the police cannot solve the case by Sunday, we will hand it over to the CBI,” Banerjee said after meeting the victim's family at her home in Kolkata.

Banerjee said on Friday her government would seek the death penalty against the accused and directed officials to ensure the case is heard in fast-track courts.

The semi-naked body of the 31-year-old postgraduate student was found in the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on Friday.

The victim, a second-year student in the thoracic unit, was on duty the night before. Her body showed signs of injury and a preliminary autopsy report showed she had been sexually assaulted before she was killed.

Doctors and medical students staged massive protests across the country on Monday against the brutal sexual assault and murder of a trainee doctor. The Federation of Resident Doctors' Associations (FORDA) has called for a national medical strike in response to the incident.

RG Kar Medical College and Hospital director Sandip Ghosh also resigned from office and government posts earlier today as junior doctors sought his removal for failing to ensure safety of staff.

So far, Kolkata Police has arrested Sanjay Roy in connection with the case. Roy is an outsider who has access to several departments of the hospital due to his role as a citizen volunteer on the Police Welfare Board. He was arrested after his activities aroused suspicion.