Kolkata rape-murder | Conflicting reports emerge on polygraph test result of Roy

In the absence of any statement by the CBI on the results of the polygraph test that was conducted on Sunday (August 25) on Sanjay Roy, the accused in the rape and murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata, conflicting reports are emerging citing different sources.

While a report in The Times of India says he allegedly told the CBI interrogators that the victim was already dead when he first laid eyes on her on the fateful night, a Business Today report says he admitted to sexually assaulting the victim and strangling her.

A team of polygraph specialists flown in to Kolkata from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) in Delhi conducted the test.

Guilty version

According to this version, Sanjoy Roy said he and his friend went to RG Kar Hospital on the night of August 8 to enquire about the health of his friend’s brother who was admitted there. They then left the hospital, drank some alcohol, and visited two red light areas in Kolkata, Sonagachi and Chetla.

He reportedly confessed to molesting a woman on the way to Chetla, which was captured on surveillance cameras. Sanjay said that his friend had sex with a woman in Chetla, but he did not. He had a video call with his girlfriend and asked her to send him nude photos, which she did.

Both of them then returned to RG Kar Hospital. This is confirmed by CCTV footage that shows Sanjay going to the corridor near the seminar hall on the third floor at 4.03 am.

He allegedly confessed, during the polygraph test, that the victim was sleeping when he entered the seminar hall. He sexually assaulted her and strangled her. After committing the crime, he went to his friend ASI Anupam Dutta’s house.

Not guilty version

In this version, Sanjay Roy reportedly claimed that the victim was dead when he reached the seminar hall of the facility.

Roy is supposed to have given several “false and unconvincing” answers to questions on his recent claims of being innocent of the crime.

The sources said that the accused appeared “unnerved and anxious” during the two hours of questioning.

He reportedly claimed he was innocent and cited multiple “alibis” even though investigators confronted him with “evidence” including forensic findings that show he was at the crime scene during the rape and murder of the trainee doctor.

NHRC norms flouted?

Meanwhile, Roy’s counsel Kabita Sarkar on Sunday alleged that the CBI violated guidelines of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) by conducting the polygraph test in the absence of a defence lawyer.

“CBI did not inform us when the test would be carried out. They ought to have let us know so that we could be present,” she was quoted as saying.

Test on seven people

The CBI has sought permission from the court to conduct the polygraph test on seven persons, including Roy and Sandip Ghosh, the former principal of the medical college. The test cannot be used as evidence during the trial but the findings will give the agency a direction for further investigation.

Roy was arrested by the Kolkata Police on August 10, a day after the body of the 31-year-old medic was found in the seminar hall of the medical college. CCTV footage and a Bluetooth device found near the medic's body resulted in the arrest of Roy, who was allegedly seen entering the seminar hall of the college where the body was found around 4 am.

'Altered crime scene'

The CBI earlier told the Supreme Court that the crime scene was altered by the time it took over the probe which suggests there was an attempt by the local police to cover up the rape and killing of the post-graduate doctor.

The doctor’s body with severe injury marks was found inside the seminar hall of the hospital's chest department on the morning of August 9.