Kolkata rape-murder LIVE: CBI to conduct polygraph test on RG Kar ex-principal, 4 others
Why was SIT formed year after RG Kar hospital financial allegations: HC asks Bengal govt
The Calcutta High Court on Thursday asked the West Bengal government why a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed a year after allegations of financial irregularities at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital first emerged.
Former deputy superintendent of the state-run medical college hospital Akhtar Ali moved the court seeking an investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against its ex-principal Sandip Ghosh over alleged financial irregularities during his tenure there.
Hearing the petition, Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj, who is presiding over the case, asked why the SIT was constituted a year after the allegations came to light. The matter will be heard again on Friday, the court said.
Ali claimed that he had reported Ghosh's alleged financial irregularities to state authorities in 2023.
Ghosh was removed from his position as principal following the rape-murder of a woman postgraduate trainee doctor at the hospital on August 9.
Subsequently, on August 20, the West Bengal government set up the SIT to probe the financial irregularities at the medical college and hospital.
CMO refused to accept confidential letter sent by Governor: Raj Bhavan
Hours after meeting the parents of the woman doctor who was raped and murdered, West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose sent a confidential letter to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, but it was not received by the CMO, an official in the Raj Bhavan claimed on Thursday.
There was, however, no confirmation regarding this development from the state government.
The governor wrote the letter after he met the parents of the deceased doctor at their residence in North 24 Parganas district on Wednesday, he said.
"A confidential letter was sent by a messenger to the CMO last night. But the CMO refused to receive it," the Raj Bhavan official told PTI.
The official, however, declined to divulge the content of the letter.
Later on Thursday afternoon, the same letter was emailed to the CMO, he added.
When contacted, a senior official at the CMO declined to comment on the matter.
Bose had paid a visit to the residence of the woman doctor, who was raped and murdered at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital earlier this month and spoke to her parents on Wednesday.
After talking to her parents, the governor had said, "I will be writing to the chief minister in a closed envelope. They told me certain things… confidential." Bose had spoken to the doctor's parents over the phone twice on Tuesday and assured them of justice.
Medics of RML Hospital withdraw strike
Resident doctors at RML Hospital announced on Thursday that they were withdrawing their 11-day strike, called to protest against the rape and murder of a medic in Kolkata, following an appeal from the Supreme Court.
The resident doctors' association of RML Hospital said in a statement that "given the Supreme Court's intervention and the progress made in addressing their demands", they would resume their duties from 8 am on Friday.
The strike is being suspended in response to the Supreme Court taking suo motu cognisance of the case and the transfer of the probe to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), it said.
#WATCH | West Bengal: BJP workers stage a protest against the incident of rape and murder of a woman doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. pic.twitter.com/SE8F0EFHqO— ANI (@ANI) August 22, 2024
IMA to file plea to intervene in SC's suo motu case on rape-murder of Kolkata medic
The IMA on Thursday decided it will file an interlocutory application to intervene in the Supreme Court's suo motu case on the alleged rape and murder of a junior doctor in a state-run hospital in Kolkata. The Indian Medical Association (IMA) headquarters is also preparing the documents to appear before the task force formed by the court to formulate a protocol for ensuring safety and security of healthcare professionals.
"IMA will be filing an IA (interlocutory application) before the Honourable Supreme Court in the suo moto intervention case. IMA HQ is preparing the necessary documents to appear before the special task force," an IMA communication to its officials, including those at its state and local branches, said.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday took suo motu cognisance of the case and constituted a 10-member National Task Force (NTF) to formulate a protocol for ensuring safety and security of doctors and other healthcare professionals.