Kolkata hospital rape-murder | Govt to seek death penalty for accused: Mamata

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has asserted that her government will seek the death penalty for the accused in the alleged sexual assault and murder of a woman postgraduate trainee doctor at one of the top state-run hospitals.

Mamata also said on Saturday (August 10) that she has asked officials to ensure that the case be tried in a fast-track court. One person has been arrested so far.

Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal, too, asserted the force will make sure the accused gets “punishment of the highest order” if the charges are proved in court.

About the accused

The body of the female doctor was found inside the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in north Kolkata on Friday. A preliminary autopsy report has indicated sexual abuse before murder.

Police on Saturday arrested the accused, an outsider who reportedly had free access to the different departments of the hospital. They also questioned two intern doctors the entire Friday night in connection with the probe.

“This is a heinous crime, and the arrested person’s alleged involvement is based on circumstantial evidence, including accounts by other doctors present during night-duty hours,” Goyal told a press conference in Kolkata on Saturday.

“Suspicious activities”

“An SIT has been formed and, on the basis of evidence, the person was arrested. We will see to it that he gets punishment of the highest order. We are collecting evidence and examining more people. The arrested accused will be produced in court today,” Goyal said.

A case has been started against the accused under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), he said, adding, it is a case of homicide as well as sexual assault.

“There is strong complicity as far as the accused is concerned. He is a criminal of the highest order,” the police commissioner said.

Another senior police officer had earlier said that the arrested man’s “activities were quite suspicious and he seems to have been directly involved in the crime”.

How suspect was identified

Talking about the arrested accused, police on Saturday said they recovered a torn part of a Bluetooth earphone, which led to the culprit.

Other PGTs and female doctors also identified the culprit from CCTV footage grabbed from other parts of the hospital premises, a source in the police department said.

Police officers also claimed that the arrested accused had given different statements during the grilling.

“Now, we are trying to find out whether he had someone else with him,” said an officer, adding that police might conduct necessary medical examinations on him.

Promise of transparent probe

Goyal said the investigation into the case will be done in a transparent manner, and “if the family demands, the probe can be conducted by any other agency”.

Mamata, too, said the West Bengal government has no objection to an investigation into the case by any agency, including the CBI, if there is a demand for it.

She also said the protests and processions by junior doctors demanding exemplary punishment for the accused were justified. “I endorse the demands being made by the junior doctors,” she told a Bengali news channel.

Describing the incident as “gruesome and despicable”, she urged the junior doctors at various state-run hospitals to carry on giving healthcare services while holding the protests.

What happened on Thursday?

The semi-nude body of the woman, a post-graduate trainee (PGT) doctor, was found inside the seminar hall of the hospital on Friday.

The second-year student of the chest medicine department was on duty on Thursday night.

A doctor of the hospital, who did not want to be named, said, “She had dinner with her juniors around 2 am. She then went to the seminar room since there is no separate on-call room to take rest. In the morning, we found her body there.”

Crime between 3 am and 6 am

The initial autopsy indicated that she was murdered after being sexually assaulted, police said. It also ruled out suicide, they said.

“This is definitely not a case of suicide; the woman was murdered following sexual assault,” a police officer told news agency PTI.

A senior officer of Kolkata Police said the crime took place between 3 am and 6 am.

“Her neck bone was also found broken. It seems that she was first strangulated and then smothered to death. We are waiting for the full report of the autopsy,” he said earlier.

Initial autopsy report

According to the four-page report, the woman was bleeding from her private parts, with injury marks in other parts of the body.

She was bleeding from “both her eyes and mouth”, and had injuries “over the face and nail”. “The victim was also bleeding from her private parts. She also has injuries in her belly, left leg… neck, in her right hand, ring finger and… lips,” the report said.

Two female witnesses and the woman’s mother were present during the autopsy, which was conducted on-camera.

Five people, who were on duty with her on Thursday night, were interrogated, police said.

Father’s allegation

The woman’s father had earlier alleged that efforts were being made to “hide the truth”.

The chief minister, sources said, telephoned the parents of the woman and assured them of appropriate action against the culprits.

Health Secretary NS Nigam and Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal visited the hospital and held a meeting with senior officials of the medical establishment.

The hospital authorities constituted a three-member panel to probe into the death of the doctor.

Protest by doctors

Meanwhile, PGT doctors at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital stopped work in all departments, except the emergency ward, demanding immediate arrest of the culprits.

Several student associations also took out a rally, demanding a swift probe into her death.

A number of opposition BJP leaders, including MLA Agnimitra Paul, visited the hospital, too, and called for an independent investigation under a magistrate.

The SFI and DYFI, which are CPI(M)’s students’ and youth wings respectively, said they would hold road blockades across West Bengal on Saturday and Sunday to protest the murder.

(With agency inputs)