The shocking death of a trainee doctor has stirred a massive outrage in Kolkata with the victim’s family members and opposition parties alleging that the second-year medical student was raped before being murdered.

The 31-year-old postgraduate trainee doctor’s brutalised body was found in a semi-nude state in the seminar hall of state-run R G Kar Medical College and Hospital on Friday, putting the campus on the boil and prompting the administration to rush the city police chief and health secretary to the spot.

According to sources in the hospital, the junior doctor who was in charge of patients in the chest medicine in the hospital ward was on night duty and was on the premises till 2 am, before going up to the seminar room on the third floor, to take a break and study.

Around 7.30 am an intern called her up but her cellphone kept ringing. He then went to the seminar room and found her body. He alerted other students, who called up hospital officials and alerted cops,” one of the victim’s colleagues stated.

Those who saw the body said she was lying on a podium in the seminar hall.

“A blue bed sheet covered the body from the neck to the knees. Her kurta was dishevelled and the trousers missing. Her laptop, a notebook, cellphone, and a water bottle were next to the body,” the source further said.

The police officer said that the victim’s body bore scratch marks, implying that there was some struggle. The four-page initial autopsy report also revealed injuries found all over her body.

“Her neck bone was also found broken. It seems that she was first strangulated and then smothered to death. There was bleeding from both her eyes and mouth, 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,” it said.

Forensic experts stated that they had found blood stains and human hair all over the mattress on which she was lying and a broken spectacle next to the body.

How The Accused Was Caught

Thanks to a torn Bluetooth earphone set, Kolkata police have identified and arrested a suspect in the case.

The accused, identified as Sanjay Roy, is an outsider who had easy access to several departments of the hospital due to his role as a civic volunteer.

Police sources said that Roy was arrested after his activities were found to be quite suspicious. Sources indicate that Roy had a history of inappropriate behaviour with women within the hospital.

According to sources the accused’s earphones were a crucial clue that led to his arrest. CCTV footage showed Roy wearing the Bluetooth earphones while entering the hospital, but it was missing when he left.

Police recovered the torn part of the earphone and were able to connect it to the suspect, helping them crack the case. Other postgraduate trainees and female doctors also identified Roy from CCTV footage captured in various parts of the hospital.

After the body was recovered, police set up a command center in a hall at the college, equipped with 15 laptops to analyse CCTV footage hour by hour.

Initial findings suggested the crime occurred between 4 am and 6 am, shortly after the victim had dinner. While examining the CCTV, officers noted Roy’s entry around 4 am, and upon reviewing the footage frame by frame, they observed that he exited the hospital without his earphones.

Police also questioned doctors and nurses on-site, gathering testimonies to establish Roy’s presence. Evidence collected included a broken Bluetooth earphone found at the crime scene. During interrogation, Roy exhibited signs of distress and later confessed to the crime. Additionally, police found pornographic content on his mobile phone, raising further concerns about his character.

Massive protests erupt across medical colleges in West Bengal, Kolkata

Massive protests have erupted among junior doctors and medical professionals in medical colleges and hospitals across the State in the aftermath of horrific incident.

Junior doctors, residents and paramedic staff organised protests in multiple medical colleges in the State, including RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Medical College, Kolkata, Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital, Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College and Hospital as well as government-run medical colleges outside the city like Burdwan Medical College and Hospital, Murshidabad Medical College and Hospital and others.

Hundreds of students, junior doctors, and residents shouted slogans and conducted sit-in demonstrations in the rain, demanding increased safety on the hospital premises and strict action against the accused.

The campus also saw the heavy deployment of police forces and dissatisfaction among OPD patients who could not avail medical services owing to the protests.

What Do The Protesting Doctors Want?
“The resident doctors of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital demand strict action to address the flawed security agency of the hospital, as well as increased installation of CCTV cameras with 24×7 real-time monitoring,” Dr. Arif Naskar of the college’s Medicine department said at the protest on Saturday.

“We also want the post-mortem report to be released immediately and a fast-track court to be formed for the punishment of the culprit.”

Dr. Naskar added that medical services in the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital will stay on halt until college authorities respond to their ten-point demands.

Meanwhile, a one-day strike was called by protesting junior doctors and staff of other State-run hospitals like Medical College, Kolkata, and Calcutta National Medical College.

The Politics
Amid massive outrage over a doctor’s rape and murder at a state-run hospital in Kolkata, the ruling Trinamool Congress has put the ball in the BJP’s court, pushing for a law to fast-track trials and ensure exemplary punishment in such cases.

The BJP, on the other hand, has pulled all the stops to corner the Mamata Banerjee government.

BJP’s Goes All-Out Against Trinamool

The main Opposition BJP has targeted the Mamata Banerjee government over the heinous crime and said the situation in Bengal regarding safety of women is not good.

“You can hide the data in the National Crime Records. But the kind of incidents that are happening prove that they (women) are not in a good situation,” Union Minister and state BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar has said.

Suvendu Adhikari, Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, has demanded a CBI inquiry into the death of the 31-year-old postgraduate trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

“Instead of addressing the issue seriously, the state government has formed an 11-member inquiry committee, which bizarrely includes some interns. It seems the government is either trying to cover up its negligence or is not taking this matter seriously,” he has said.

The Left, too, has demanded a CBI probe. CPM state secretary Mohd Salim has said, “The City of Joy has turned into a City of bhoy (fear). No one is safe under this Trinamool Congress government, the whole country is condemning the gruesome incident.”

The Congress, Trinamool’s ally in Delhi, has joined the protests. A video shared by news agency ANI shows Congress workers joining the doctors’ protests and demanding that their representatives be included in the inquiry committee.

How Has Trinamool Responded

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has assured that she will seek death penalty for the perpetrator.

Known to oppose CBI investigation into cases related to Bengal, the Trinamool chief has in this case said her government has no objections to investigation by a central agency. The state government, she has said, has “nothing to hide”.

Ms Banerjee’s nephew and Trinamool general secretary Abhishek Banerjee has said those convicted in such cases should be given “capital punishment or encounter”.

“The Centre should bring in an ordinance calling for immediate action against such culprits. This could be made into an amendment after six months,” he said, assuring that the Trinamool will support such a law. He hoped that the other Opposition parties, including the Congress and the Left, would have no objection either.

Mr Banerjee said such a law would prevent prolonged trials that can last five to six years and save taxpayers’ money. “These rapists, who don’t deserve to live in society, should be dealt with either through encounter or by hanging,” he said.

How Far Has Probe Progressed

Police have made one arrest in this connection and sent the accused to a 14-day police custody. Reports say the accused is a civic volunteer. He has been charged under sections relating to rape and murder.

The case against the accused in based on circumstantial evidence and testimonies of doctors on night-duty at the time of the incident, Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal has said.

“This is a heinous crime, and the arrested person is allegedly involved based on circumstantial evidence, including accounts of the other doctors present during night-duty hours,” he told the media. The top cop said police will ensure that the accused gets the maximum punishment if the charges are proved in court.