The probe into the gruesome rape and murder of a 31-year-old doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata should be transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Calcutta High Court ruled today.
The court noted serious shortcomings in the hospital administration's response after the doctor was found dead in the seminar hall on Friday morning, her clothes in disarray and injuries all over her body. The victim's parents, the court said, want an investigation by an independent body to ensure that evidence is not tampered with.
The court today came down heavily on Dr Sandip Ghosh, the former principal of the state university, saying it was “disheartening” that he was not “proactive”. The court also noted that the former principal was given the same role in another university hours after he had resigned and said he should be immediately relieved of his duties and sent on leave.
Dr Ghosh resigned yesterday, saying he could not cope with the humiliation on social media following the doctor’s rape-murder. Hours later, he was given a new role as principal of Calcutta National Medical College, triggering a wave of protest as protesting doctors questioned the haste behind his new appointment.
Criticising the state government for giving Dr Ghosh a new charge soon after his resignation, the court said, “The competent authority should have taken into account the circumstances under which the resignation was given. Therefore, the least that can be expected of the department, even if that resignation was not accepted, is that the director be relieved of the administrative responsibility and that he not be assigned any other charge of equal responsibility. This professor has been appointed as the director of another medical college. It is not clear why this was so urgent.”
The hospital administration, the court noted, was not with the victim or the victim's family. “The case before us is a special case. There should be no further loss of time. There is a possibility that evidence has been manipulated,” the court said.
The high court also noted that it would have given the state police more time under “normal circumstances”. “Even after five days, no significant conclusions have been drawn which should have been drawn by now. Therefore, we are justified in holding that there is every likelihood of evidence being destroyed. We deem it appropriate that the case be transferred to the CBI with immediate effect,” the court said.
Earlier, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had said that Kolkata police should complete their investigation by Sunday, failing which the state government would recommend a CBI probe if the victims' parents want it. Opposition parties, led by the BJP, had demanded a central agency probe and warned against tampering with evidence if the state police were to investigate the case that has sent shockwaves across the country.
