Construction Work Near Crime Scene: Allegations Of Evidence Tampering, Gangrape Surface As CBI Begins Probe In Kolkata Doctor's Case

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Left groups on Tuesday (13 August) accused authorities of Kolkata’s R G Kar Medical College and Hospital of attempting to tamper with evidence in connection with the rape and murder of a junior doctor on the campus.

Members of the CPI(M)-affiliated Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) and Students’ Federation of India (SFI) gathered at the Emergency building of the hospital on Tuesday, protesting against renovation work that began after the incident near the seminar room where the doctor’s body was found, and alleged that it was a deliberate attempt to destroy evidence and “hide the real culprits”.

In the midst of the allegations, a doctor from the Left-affiliated Joint Forum of Doctors claimed that the postmortem report contained findings that suggested the victim might have been raped by more than one person.

Doctor Subarna Goswami, who was present with the victim’s family during the examination of the postmortem report, stated, “It is clear that this is not the work of a single individual… she was gangraped," Indian Express reported.

The police have arrested a civic volunteer, Sanjay Roy, in relation to the 31-year-old doctor’s rape and murder, a case that has triggered widespread outrage and led to protests by doctors at multiple hospitals across the nation.

DYFI state secretary Minakshi Mukherjee, who was participating in Tuesday’s protests at R G Kar Medical College on Tuesday, said, “We believe that the TMC government is trying to hide the real culprits. We will not allow the hospital and medical college authorities to tamper with evidence in the case. They are continuously trying to do that.”

The hospital authorities ordered the demolition of a room and a nearby women’s toilet on Saturday—both situated just a few feet from the seminar room—to build a rest area, IE reported citing sources.

While authorities claim the demolition was in response to students’ demands for a rest area in the Chest Medicine department, the timing—just a day after the doctor’s body was found—has sparked allegations of an attempt to tamper with evidence.

BJP MLA and Leader of Opposition in Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, said, “They have already tampered with a lot of evidence. The CBI has to take the case immediately. We have already demanded the resignation of Mamata Banerjee, who is both Chief Minister and the state Home Minister.”

This comes as the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday transferred the case to the CBI with immediate effect.

The Central agency has taken over the probe from the West Bengal police and a CBI team is set to arrive in Kolkata today.

A police officer posted at R G Kar Medical College said, “On Tuesday morning, a team from the National Commission for Women came to see the PO (place of occurrence of the crime). They protested after seeing that construction work was going on near the crime scene. Soon after that, SFI-DYFI supporters started to protest.”

Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, CPI(M) leader and counsel for the victim’s family, alleged that the medical college authorities could not have proceeded with any demolition or construction without the PWD’s assistance and the state government’s approval.

"Hence, it is clear that the state government was behind the move," he claimed.

Over the past few days, BJP and CPI(M) leaders have claimed that Sanjay Roy, the arrested accused, was not the sole perpetrator in the rape and murder of the doctor. They allege that the TMC is attempting to protect others involved in the crime.

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