'Trying to cover up…': Kolkata police responds after BJP claims outsiders vandalized RG Kar crime scene

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday claimed that several people, including outsiders, found the semi-naked body of a second-year PG student in the fourth-floor seminar room of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata in August.

Sharing a video, the BJP claimed that the crime scene was completely destroyed and that doctors, police, hospital staff and outsiders were present at the crime scene (PO). However, the police issued a statement in the video saying that no one was allowed to enter the police station except for a few designated officers.

Allegations of the BJP

Party IT cell chief and West Bengal in-charge Amit Malviya shared a video on social media platform X in which a packed seminar hall with several people can be seen. According to reports, the video was shot on August 9 and features Prasun Chattopadhyay (personal assistant to former principal Sandeep Ghosh), lawyers, forensic demonstrators and other police officers.

“Shocking footage from the seminar room of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital shortly after the body of the raped and murdered PGT woman doctor was found. The crime scene was completely destroyed and so many doctors were present at the place of crime (PO) , police, hospital staff and outsiders. One can see these people in the video: Sanjeev Chattopadhyaya, OC, RG Kar Outpost, One Lawyer Shantanu Dey (wearing a green half-shirt). What? Prasun Chattopadhyay (in maroon shirt), personal assistant to disgraced former principal Sandeep Ghosh, forensic protester Debashis Shome,” Malviya said in the post.

Questioning police intentions

The BJP leader questioned the intentions of the Kolkata Police and said why the police did not prevent the crowd, including outsiders, from entering the crime scene.

“When the Kolkata Police were present, why did they not stop the large crowd from contaminating the crime scene, leading to the destruction of important evidence? Or was this the agenda? Who called outsiders inside the hospital? Kolkata Police did not allow the parents of the deceased to enter the crime scene, then why did they allow outsiders Enter? he added.

Questioning the intentions of Mamata Banerjee government

The BJP criticized the TMC government while referring to the film and raised some questions about the Mamata government. “This raises a number of questions about the intentions of the Mamata Banerjee government and their orchestrated cover-up of the crime. The outrageous remarks of the Kolkata Police Chief have exacerbated this horrific crime. Tushar, Additional Solicitor General, Supreme Court “Our investigation itself was a challenge because the PO was revised! Now we know what he meant,” Tushar Mehta said while submitting information before the CJI Special Judge of the Supreme Court, Malviya added.

Kolkata Police's response

However, the Kolkata Police issued a statement saying that only a few designated personnel were allowed to enter the police station and the video covered areas outside the cordon.

“As soon as the body was discovered, the area was cordoned off. Forty feet away from the body, no one was present except for the predetermined number of people, including some police officers, doctors, forensic team, photography/camera team, who were supposed to enter the PO. The video involves outside the cordon. area. There were many people in the area, including the victim's family and doctors,” the official said.

what is going on?

The case relates to the rape and murder of a 31-year-old trainee doctor on August 9 while he was taking a break from get off work at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. The main accused, Sanjay Roy, was arrested a day later.

Amid the ongoing protests, some miscreants entered the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 14 and vandalized parts of the medical facility where the victim's body was found. The Calcutta High Court on August 13 ordered the transfer of the Kolkata Police investigation to India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The Kolkata case shocked the country, bringing the functioning of RG Kar Hospital under scrutiny, leading to the ouster of its principal and triggering massive protests by medical students and civil society.