The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday filed a charge sheet against prime accused Sanjay Roy in connection with the grisly rape and murder at Kolkata’s RG Kar Hospital in August, people familiar with the development said, adding that no evidence of gang rape or involvement of more people was found.
Roy, a civic police volunteer posted at police post the premier government hospital in Kolkata, was charged under sections 64 (rape) and 103 (1) (murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the people cited above said. He was arrested by Kolkata Police on August 10, a day after the crime came to light, and handed over to the federal agency on August 13.
“After a one-and- a-half month-long investigation, recording of statements of several witnesses and accused, and detailed forensic analysis including DNA tests, the special investigation team (SIT) has filed a charge sheet in the rape-murder case”, said a CBI officer who didn’t want to be named.
The agency didn’t name anyone else in the charge sheet and appeared to rule out gang rape, disproving a major strand of speculation in some quarters in the initial days of the investigation.
“All the evidence – material and circumstantial – points to the involvement of the sole arrested accused – Sanjay Roy. Further investigations in the case are going on,” said the officer quoted above.
Read more: RG Kar rape-murder case: Doctors’ association announces nationwide hunger strike on Oct 9
The agency will file supplementary charge sheets at a later stage into the role of former RG Kar principal Sandip Ghosh, and then station house officer (SHO) of Tala police station Abhijit Mondal, for their role in the alleged destruction of evidence and trying to save Roy after the incident. Ghosh and Mondal were arrested by CBI on September 14.
“We will speak to our legal team and only then make any comments on this,” said Dr Debasish Halder, a protesting junior doctor. Junior doctors in WB have earlier gone on strike demanding justice for the victim and have now started a hunger strike.
The filing of the charge sheet marks an important landmark in the tumultuous saga unleashed by the gruesome crime on August 9 that upended Bengali civil society, threw Kolkata into ferment and shook the state government. Since that day, tens of thousands of ordinary people have flooded the streets of the metropolis almost every week demanding justice for the victim and junior doctors struck work for close to six weeks, prompting the government to remove the Kolkata police commissioner and several senior health department officials. But popular anger about crimes against women continues to simmer in a city that often takes pride in its syncretic culture and history of gender equality.
“Kolkata Police arrested Roy within 24 hours. CBI took 58 days to file the charge sheet and named Roy. This proves that the investigation done by the Kolkata Police was in the right direction,” Kunal Ghosh, a TMC leader told the media.
The BJP, however, hit back at TMC. “If Kolkata Police had done the right investigation why was the scene of crime altered? Why was the evidence tampered? Why was the autopsy done after sunset? Why was the victim’s body cremated hurriedly? These questions are yet to be answered,” Samik Bhattacharya, BJP Rajya Sabha MP and party spokesperson, told the media.
The body of a second-year postgraduate student, who was allegedly raped and murdered inside a seminar hall of the hospital, was found on August 9. The crime took place at the third-floor seminar hall of the chest department late at night and police later said that multiple lacerations and wounds were found on her body.
Roy was arrested by the Kolkata Police on August 10 and was sent to police custody till August 24. The investigation was handed over to CBI on August 13 after directions from the Calcutta high court.
According to the CBI probe, Roy entered the hospital around 4am in an inebriated condition and left after about 40 minutes. The autopsy report of the doctor revealed that she was strangled and smothered to death; as well as injuries suggesting she was sexually assaulted. “During his polygraph test, Roy gave misleading replies but forensic evidence including DNA, CCTV footage and testimonies of witnesses established his guilt,” said a second CBI officer, requesting anonymity.
The Kolkata Police, which was probing into the case in the initial stages, lodged a first information report (FIR) under sections 64 (rape) and 103 (1) (murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) on August 9. Later, CBI registered a FIR under the same sections.
The case is also being heard by the Supreme Court, which has rebuked the state government over the state of safety in government hospitals and lapses in the probe, and said that the CBI probe had discovered “substantial leads”.
In the last 58 days, CBI recorded over 120 statements and conducted 12 polygraph tests, including that of Ghosh in the case.
After arresting Ghosh last month, it said he “intentionally” did not insist on registration of FIR into the rape but introduced a theory of suicide despite visible external injuries on the body. Among the earliest complaints raised by the victim’s family was that they were initially told it was a case of suicide, raising suspicion that the authorities were trying to cover-up the crime.
The agency added that Ghosh, in his polygraph and layered voice analysis tests, was “deceptive” on certain important issues related to the incident.
About Mondal’s role, CBI said he got information about the incident at 10.03am but failed to reach the scene of crime immediately. The General Diary (GD) entry of the police station intentionally mentioned wrong facts that “body of PG trainee was found lying in unconscious state at seminar room of chest-medicine” whereas the body was already examined by a doctor who found her dead, CBI alleged.
Mondal also failed to cordon the scene of crime to preserve it, which led to unauthorised people damaging vital evidence, CBI alleged.
The agency said Mondal was “trying to protect the accused Sanjay Roy and others unauthorisedly accessed the scene of crime which may have resulted in tampering with the evidence”.
Being in-charge of Tala police station, Mondal failed to ensure timely ascertaining the condition of the victim and issuance of death certificate, thereby causing subsequent delay in conducting inquest, postmortem etc.
About the 14-hour delay in registration of FIR, CBI alleged that “Mondal failed to ensure registration of FIR despite having a telephonic conversation at 10.03 am, a written complaint from medical superintendent at 2.55 pm, and subsequent complaint from father at 7.30 pm and went on register the case only at 11.30 pm with an inordinate delay of 14 hours”.
