RG Kar Case: Kolkata Court To Deliver Verdict In Rape And Murder Of Junior Doctor On Jan 18

The case involves the rape and murder of a 31-year-old junior doctor at the state-run RG Kar Hospital in Kolkata on August 9 last year. The victim's body was discovered in the hospital's seminar room.

File photo of members of "Abhaya Manch' participating in a protest against CBI officials for being unable to produce a charge-sheet against the former principal of R G Kar Medical College and Hospital Sandip Ghosh and former Officer in Charge of Tala Police station Abhijit Mondal, in Kolkata.

Source : PTI

The trial in the rape and murder case of a junior doctor from R G Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, which happened in August last year, has concluded, and a Sealdah court is expected to deliver its verdict on January 18.

In December, the victim's parents approached the Calcutta High Court, requesting a fresh investigation into the case. They urged the court to expedite the initiation of a new probe. Their counsel argued that the family lacked confidence in the ongoing investigation being conducted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

According to a report by Indian Express, the lawyer of the CBI, Partho Sarathi Dutta, stated on Thursday, “The CBI has asked for the maximum punishment. The investigation is still on.”

In response, the victim’s parents’ lawyer told Indian Express, “We have just one demand – That whoever or all who are involved in the case should be brought forward, they should get the maximum punishment. We want justice. The supplementary chargesheet has still not been submitted. The investigation is not yet over. We are hoping that the truth will come out. The CBI and we have demanded the maximum punishment (for the accused, Sanjay Roy).”

The victim’s father stated that they were happy with the investigation, and requested a further probe into the case requesting the maximum punishment. “What the police had done in five days, the CBI has done in five months,” said the mother of the victim.

She further added, “There will be further investigation, we are not happy with the probe. We know that Sanjoy Roy is the culprit but he alone could not have committed such a crime in a 24×7 hospital. When all involved are punished, we will be satisfied. We did not want a CBI investigation… It was the court that decided that the CBI would probe the case.”

Suspects Arrested On December 13

On December 13, the additional chief judicial magistrate of the Sealdah court granted bail to Abhijit Mondal, former officer-in-charge of Tala police station, and Sandip Ghosh, former principal of R G Kar Medical College and Hospital, in connection with the case. 

The court granted bail as the CBI failed to file chargesheets against them within the statutory 90-day period. The two had been arrested by the CBI on September 14 for allegedly tampering with evidence and attempting to cover up the incident. Mondal was accused of delaying the filing of an FIR, while Ghosh was accused of tampering with evidence.

Mondal was released from jail after being granted bail, but Ghosh remains in judicial remand in a separate case involving alleged financial irregularities at R G Kar Hospital.

The case involves the rape and murder of a 31-year-old junior doctor at the state-run RG Kar Hospital in Kolkata on August 9 last year. The victim's body was discovered in the hospital's seminar room. 

On August 10, a civic volunteer working with the Kolkata Police was arrested on suspicion of committing the crime. The case sparked widespread protests across the state, prompting the Calcutta High Court to transfer the investigation to the CBI, citing a lack of confidence in the Kolkata Police's probe.

The trial began on November 11 in a Kolkata court, three months after the incident, with in-camera proceedings presided over by additional district and sessions judge Anirban Das.