West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has announced that the ongoing investigation into the alleged rape and murder of a woman trainee doctor inside Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital will be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) if local police fail to solve the case by Sunday.
Junior doctors at the hospital, along with interns and postgraduate trainees from other state-run medical institutions across West Bengal, have vowed to continue their strike, now in its fifth day, until those responsible for the alleged rape and murder are brought to justice.
Despite Banerjee’s promise to transfer the case to the CBI if unresolved by Sunday, the protesting students remain dissatisfied. They even slammed her for imposing a seven-day deadline to address such a serious crime against a fellow doctor. The protesters are demanding a judicial inquiry, capital punishment for the perpetrators, adequate compensation for the victim’s family, and enhanced security measures at hospitals.
‘CBI’s success rate is low’: Mamata Banerjee’s dig at probe agency
A two-member team from the National Commission for Women (NCW) arrived in Kolkata on Monday afternoon to meet with Kolkata police officers and the family of the victim. The body of the post-graduate trainee, who was allegedly raped and murdered inside a seminar hall at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, was discovered on Friday morning. Following this, junior doctors at the hospital began a cease-work protest that evening.
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On Saturday, a civic volunteer was arrested in connection with the case. CM Mamata Banerjee pledged to seek the death penalty for those responsible. Banerjee also mentioned that the family suspects the involvement of an insider in the crime.
“I want the police to arrest the culprits as soon as possible. If they are unable to crack the case by Sunday, we will hand it over to the CBI. I don’t have an issue with the central agency taking over, but its success rate is low,” Banerjee said.
Taking a dig at CBI, Banerjee cited several high-profile cases that remain unsolved and expressed doubts about the agency’s effectiveness. She further stressed the importance of the case being tried in a fast-track court.
City Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal, who accompanied Banerjee to the victim’s residence, assured that the investigation was being conducted with urgency. “We are certain that if there are other culprits, they will be arrested within the next four to five days,” he said.
On Monday, the Kolkata police summoned seven doctors, including one assistant professor who was the first to notify others about the doctor’s death, for questioning. Five others, who were known to the arrested civic volunteer, were also summoned.
Police revealed that the arrested man, who had been a civic volunteer since 2019, had a history of multiple marriages and was known for his womanizing behavior. They also disclosed that he had an addiction to “hardcore pornography.”