A city court on Friday granted the CBI permission to conduct polygraph tests on former principal Sandip Ghosh and five others as probe into the alleged rape and murder of a post-graduate trainee at the hospital earlier this month.
Here are 10 top developments of August 23 on the Kolkata RG Kar Hospital doctor case:
-The Calcutta High Court on Friday ordered the transfer of the probe into the alleged financial irregularities at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital during the tenure of its former principal Sandip Ghosh from a state-constituted Special Investigation Team (SIT) to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
-The High Court’s decision to transfer the case to CBI came in response to a petition by a former deputy superintendent of the facility, Akhtar Ali, who sought a probe by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) into alleged financial misconduct at the state-run institute during the tenure of Ghosh.
-Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj directed the CBI to submit a progress report on the investigation within three weeks and scheduled a review hearing for September 17.
-In another case, the Calcutta High Court also refused to prohibit a march to the West Bengal state secretariat ‘Nabanna’ on August 27 to protest the rape and murder of the medic, holding that the fundamental right to hold peaceful protest cannot be curbed.
-Meanwhile, the CBI has received permission from a city court to conduct polygraph tests on former principal Sandip Ghosh and five others in connection with the alleged rape and murder of a post-graduate trainee at the hospital. The polygraph tests will be conducted on Ghosh, four doctors (including an intern), and a civic volunteer arrested in connection with the case.
-The arrested civic volunteer, who is the prime accused, was remanded in judicial custody for 14 days.
-Junior doctors at RG Kar Hospital have been on strike for over two weeks. They continue their protest amid dissatisfaction with the progress of the investigation and its impact on public healthcare.
-BJP activists staged demonstrations at police stations across West Bengal, including breaking barricades and demanding Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s resignation over alleged failure to ensure women’s safety.
-In Purba Medinipur district, more than 500 BJP activists, including many women, forcibly entered the Nandigram police station, breaking through barricades and clashing with police and Rapid Action Force personnel. Nandigram, the site of the 2007-08 anti-land acquisition movement led by the Trinamool Congress (TMC), is represented by Suvendu Adhikari, who switched from TMC to BJP in 2020 and won the assembly seat in 2021 by defeating Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
-Presidency University students and faculty staged a protest rally from the College Street campus to the Shyambazar five-point crossing near RG Kar hospital. IT professionals from Kolkata’s New Town also organised a demonstration on the eastern outskirts of the city.
