More than a month into the investigation into the rape and murder case of a postgraduate trainee doctor at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, several new pieces of information have surfaced including that about ex-principal Sandip Ghosh.
Meanwhile, festive season has kicked in the entire state, with West Bengal gearing up for its biggest-scale celebrations of Durga Puja. However, in the backdrop of the terrifying incident which took place at the state-run medical facility, people are contemplating as to whether or not they should celebrate the festival.
Here's what has unfolded in the case, protest and the probe in the past day:
The Gravity Of Accusation Against Ex-RG Kar Principal
A special CBI court denied bail to former RG Kar Medical College's principal Sandip Ghosh and observed that the nature and gravity of accusation levelled against him is so grave that it can lead to capital punishment if proved.
Ghosh and the officer-in-charge of Tala police station -- Abhijit Mondal -- had been arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for the alleged tampering of evidence and delay in filing FIR in the rape and murder case of the postgraduate trainee doctor on August 9.
Dictating its order on September 25, the court observed that from the case diary it seems that the process of investigation by the federal probe agency is in full swing.
Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate S Dey observed that the nature and gravity of the accusation is grave and if proved, it may attract capital punishment, which is handed in the rarest of rare cases.
He said the court is of the opinion that "it would be injustice flouting the principle of equity to release the accused on bail".
In the order, the judge said that a person may commit an offence with the help of other(s), and there is no need to be present for the other accused at the place occurrence. With this, the bail plea of Mondal was also rejected by the court.
The court granted CBI judicial custody of the two accused till September 30.
Notably, Ghosh's counsel had in front of the judge at Sealdah Court argued that the former principal was falsely implicated in the case, adding that there was no act on his part to commit the alleged crime.
Mega Rally By Junior Docs On Oct 2
Junior doctors of West Bengal on Friday said that they will hold a massive rally in Kolkata on October 2, the day nation marks the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, to demand justice for the victim doctor who was raped and murdered at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
Junior doctor Debasish Halder said that they have called for protests rallies across the state by the general public on September 29, which is the eve of the scheduled hearing of the matter before the Supreme Court.
On October 2, Halder said the mega protest rally will begin from College Square and go up to central Kolkata's Esplanade, culminating in a public meeting.
Notably, the junior doctors -- who had resorted to cease work as a sign of condemnation and demand for justice in the incident -- had recently partially resumed duties. They clarified that they were only resuming essential and emergency medicine services, and not that of the Out-Patient Department (OPD).
CBI Waits On 3D Mapping Of Crime Scene
The CBI is awaiting the final report of the 3D laser mapping of the crime scene -- emergency ward of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital -- to determine the exact location where the trainee doctor was raped and killed, a senior official of the probe agency said.
The officer told news agency PTI that the CBI is hoping to demonstrate "deliberate tampering of evidence" once the 3D mapping report is complete.
"The seminar hall is merely a shadow of the actual crime scene and the 3D mapping has provided some confirmation of this. We expect the final report to validate our findings," the officer added.
The findings will be likely be submitted by the central probe agency in its status report before the Supreme Court on September 30.
On August 18, a specialised team of the CBI had conducted the 3D mapping of the crime scenes with the help of advanced laser scanning technology to capture a comprehensive view of the area.
The CBI officer noted that if the evidence corroborates with other possibilities, then a new sketch of the map of the crime scene will be prepared.
The CBI will not just use the 3D mapping report, but also the circumstantial evidence it has gather so far, including mobile numbers identified through an analysis of mobile network data. The mobile tower data also included that of the victim, so that the agency could pinpoint the crime scene.
"We have identified several numbers after the analysing the mobile phone tower dump," he said.
A mobile phone tower dump is a collection of phone data from a specific area and a time period, especially used by law enforcement agencies to investigate crimes.
Another Case Of Attack On Doctors
Junior doctors of the state-run Sagar Dutta Medical College and Hospital in Kamarhati near Kolkata have announced cease work on Friday night after some of them were allegedly thrashed by the family of a woman who died during treatment.
A junior doctor said that the middle-aged woman had acute breathing problems and was in a critical stage.
After her death, a mob of around 20 people stormed the hospital and beat up junior doctors and nurses who were there on duty.
"We have been repeatedly demanding proper security at the outpatient department and hospital wards. But today's incident proves the state administration is yet to wake up to our demand for safety. Till our demands for adequate safety are met, the cease work will continue," the junior doctor added.
He claimed that at least six persons, including female nurses, were beaten up by the mob.
Kinjal Nanda, member of the West Bengal Junior Doctors' Forum, said, "Our repeated demand for the safety of junior doctors have not been fulfilled by the administration. We will declare our next court of action in the wake of this incident by tomorrow. We don't want a rerun of the RG Kar case."
