Kolkata doctor rape-murder case: CM Mamata says will handover case to CBI if Kolkata Police fail to crack by August 18

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

As protests continued to rage over the alleged rape and murder of a doctor at Kolkata R G Kar Medical College and Hospital, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday (August 12, 2024) gave the police a seven-day deadline to make progress in the case, failing which she would hand over the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

“I want the police to arrest the culprits as soon as possible. If by Sunday they are unable to crack the case, then I will hand over the investigation to the CBI… because insiders may be involved,” Ms. Banerjee said.

The Chief Minister made the announcement after meeting the family members of the victim who was found dead in a seminar room of the State-run health facility on Friday.

Ms. Banerjee said that even the family members alleged the possibility of an outsider being involved. “I am surprised as to how the incident occurred — nurses were there, the security personnel were there,” she added.

The Chief Minister said that all the people who were in positions of responsibility — like the principal and medical superintendent of the hospital and the police officer in charge of security — have been removed from their respective positions.

Also watch: Kolkata doctor rape and murder: Doctors across India continue strike

Earlier in the day, the Principal of the medical college and hospital, Sandip Ghosh resigned from his post. The State government had already removed Sanjay Vasistha, the Medical Superintendent of the hospital, from his post. The Kolkata Police on Saturday arrested a civic police volunteer in connection with the crime. The accused was allegedly seen in CCTV footage near the crime scene. Signs of sexual assault have emerged from the post-mortem exam.

Also read: Strike continues for 4th day, hospital services hit across Bengal

There were rumours about involvement of more people in the crime, which the Commissioner of Kolkata Police Vinnet Kumar Goyal rejected during discussions with the protesting students on Sunday.

The junior doctors protesting against the brutal crime rejected the Chief Minister’s offer and said that they would keep up the demonstrations. The Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association of India (FORDA) has endorsed the strike. A two-member team of the National Commission for Women (NCW) arrived in Kolkata and visited the State police headquarters to probe the incident.

The incident has sparked a political war of words, with Opposition parties targeting the Trinamool Congress government. On Monday, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra described the incident as heartbreaking. “Safety of women at the workplace is a big issue in the country and concrete efforts are needed for this. I appeal to the State government to take immediate and strict action in this case and ensure justice to the victim’s family and fellow doctors,” she said.

Reacting to the deadline given by Chief Minister to Kolkata Police, BJP leader Amit Malviya alleged that the underlying implication of this deadline was that she required more time to obfuscate the situation, protect the influential individuals and their kin involved in the rape and murder, intimidate the victim’s family. “She will subsequently transfer a compromised case to the CBI, blame them and mask her own administrative failings,” he added.

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