The Supreme Court on Thursday labeled the Kolkata Police’s delay in reporting the rape and murder of a female doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital as “extremely disturbing.” Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and the bench, including Justice JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, expressed surprise that the post-mortem, conducted between 6:10 pm and 7:10 pm on August 9, occurred before the case was officially registered as an unnatural death. The case was only reported to the Tala police station at 11:30 pm on the same day.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta highlighted that the FIR was filed at 11:45 pm after the victim had been cremated. He criticized the police for initially misinforming the victim’s parents and causing suspicion of a cover-up. The Supreme Court has directed the Kolkata Police officer responsible for the initial report to appear at the next hearing to clarify the timing of the entry.
In response to ongoing protests, the court instructed protesting doctors to return to work, assuring them that no punitive action would be taken upon their resumption.
The court emphasized the importance of maintaining public health services and promised that the National Task Force would address all concerns from the medical community.
The tragic case, which has triggered nationwide demonstrations, saw a civic volunteer’s arrest on August 10, and the Calcutta High Court transferred the investigation to the CBI on August 13, with the CBI commencing its probe the following day.
