The Calcutta High Court on Thursday directed the formation of a three-member special investigation team (SIT) under the CBI to examine events linked to the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at R G Kar Medical College and Hospital in August 2024.
The division bench, comprising Justices Shampa Sarkar and Tirthankar Ghosh, said the SIT would investigate allegations that evidence was destroyed and attempts were made to suppress details of the crime after the incident came to light.
According to the court order, the CBI’s joint director (east) will head the investigation team, while the names of the remaining two members are to be finalised within 48 hours.
SIT to probe sequence of events
The court instructed the SIT to closely examine the sequence of events from the time the post-graduate trainee doctor had dinner at the hospital on the night of August 9, 2024, until her cremation the following evening. The bench also directed the team to submit a detailed report by June 25, when the matter will next be heard.
The case had triggered widespread outrage across West Bengal and among doctors’ associations nationwide after the young medic was raped and murdered inside the state-run hospital.
The victim’s parents approached the high court seeking a deeper investigation, alleging that more than one person was involved in the crime and claiming there were efforts to downplay the matter in the immediate aftermath.
Earlier, civic volunteer Sanjay Roy was sentenced to life imprisonment for the rape and murder of the trainee doctor.
Victim’s mother wins Panihati Assembly seat on BJP ticket
The BJP fielded rape-murder victim’s mother Ratna Debnath in the West Bengal Assembly elections. Contesting from Panihati Assembly Constituency, Debnath secured a decisive victory, defeating the TMC’s Tirthankar Ghosh by a margin of 28,836 votes.
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