[RG Kar Rape-Murder] “CBI In Direct Contact With Deceased’s Parents”: CJI Chandrachud

Today, October 15, the Supreme Court is conducting a crucial hearing on the suo motu case related to the tragic rape and murder of a trainee doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College Hospital. This sensitive case has garnered significant attention, and a bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, alongside Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra, is overseeing the matter. “The CBI has been in direct touch with the parents of the deceased and have been apprised of the steps taken so far”: CJI noted the CBI’s efforts in maintaining direct communication with the deceased’s family to keep them informed of the progress. .

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NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court is conducting a crucial hearing on the suo motu case related to the tragic rape and murder of a trainee doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College Hospital. This sensitive case has garnered significant attention, and a bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, alongside Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra, is overseeing the matter.

In this hearing, the Court is also focusing on the status of the investigation being conducted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Chief Justice Chandrachud noted the CBI’s efforts in maintaining direct communication with the deceased’s family to keep them informed of the progress.

“The CBI has been in direct touch with the parents of the deceased and have been apprised of the steps taken so far,”

-remarked the CJI.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) has stepped in to assist the family by ensuring that any personal information related to the deceased is removed from intermediary platforms, offering them some measure of privacy.

The Court is also reviewing the actions of the task force assigned to this case.

“We would also like to see what progress the Task Force has done,”

-the CJI emphasized, highlighting the importance of ongoing efforts in the investigation.

The Solicitor General (SG) confirmed,

“CBI officers are in direct touch with the parents of the deceased,”

ensuring that the family is consistently updated. Additionally, the CBI has uncovered financial irregularities at RG Kar Hospital. The investigation, which encompasses both the tragic incident that occurred on August 9 and the hospital’s alleged financial misconduct, will continue in the upcoming weeks.

“The CBI has also highlighted the development in relation to the financial irregularities in the RG Kar Hospital… the further investigation both with respect to the incident of 9 August and the alleged financial irregularities may continue…. a status report be submitted within 3 weeks,”

-Chief Justice Chandrachud stated.

As the investigation unfolds, further updates are anticipated regarding the involvement of other parties. The Chief Justice noted,

“The report of CBI says that chargesheet for the role of other accused is a subject matter of investigation. The CBI has also received communications pertaining to certain parties, those are also being looked into by CBI.”

In the latest development, the CBI has already submitted its fifth status report, dated October 15. According to this report, a chargesheet was filed on October 7 concerning the offences under Sections 64 and 66 of the Bengal Nursing Service (BNS) Act against the accused Sanjoy Roy.

“In the 5th status report dated 15 Oct submitted by CBI, it has been stated that on the basis of the investigation thus far, a chargesheet has been submitted on 7 October for offences un/s 64,66 of the BNS against accused Sanjoy Roy. By an order dated, the ACGM Sealdah has taken cognizance of the case, the hearing for consideration of trial is fixed for November 4,”

-shared the CJI.

The Solicitor General also reaffirmed this timeline, stating,

“The chargesheet is dated 7 October 2024.”

In the previous hearing on September 30, the junior doctors’ association assured the Court that they were actively performing all essential medical services, including inpatient (IP) and outpatient (OP) duties. The Court had earlier instructed the protesting doctors to cease their abstention from work to ensure medical services were not disrupted during the ongoing investigation.

As the legal proceedings progress, the Supreme Court is expected to continue monitoring both the criminal investigation and any related financial inquiries. All eyes remain on the upcoming court dates, with the next significant hearing slated for November 4, when the trial is expected to be considered.

This case has brought forward significant concerns about safety in medical institutions and has further drawn attention to potential internal mismanagement at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College Hospital, raising the stakes for a thorough and transparent investigation.

The Rape-Murder That shocked The Country

The 31-year=old doctor was raped and murdered at the Kolkata hospital on August 9. Her partially clothed body was found at the hospital’s seminar room the next morning.

The prime suspect, who has been arrested, is Sanjoy Roy, a civic volunteer with the Kolkata Police, who was stationed at the police outpost at the hospital and had access to all departments.

But the investigation had left too many questions unanswered — including the various distorted versions told to the parents one of which was the claim that their daughter has died by suicide.

There were also allegations that the police had forced the cremation despite the parents’ unwillingness and one officer had even offered them money to bury the case.

There was the construction near the site of the crime, mob attack on the protesters at RG Kar hospital on the night of August 15 and the transfer of Sandip Ghosh to a top hospital hours after he submitted his resignation.

The courts questioned why the former principal had not file a complaint for a timely First Information Report, the lapses in postmortem report and the associated papers. The case was handed to the CBI, which first arrested Ghosh in connection with the parallel corruption case they are investigating and then for alleged evidence tampering.

The sequence of events led to spiralling protests that spread across the country, already outraged over the shocking crime.

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