Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court today gave the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) full authority to probe the vandalism inside RG Kar Hospital and Medical College here and sought a detailed report on the incident in the form of an affidavit on Wednesday, when the case will be heard next.
Several PILs were filed in connection with the rape and murder case of a 31-year-old female post-graduate medical student inside the hospital. The body of the student was found in the third floor seminar hall of the Pulmonology Department. The case has already been transferred from the Kolkata Police to the CBI and the central agency has been probing the murder case.
On the intervening night of August 14 and 15, a call for “Reclaim the Night” by women had resulted in massive protest gatherings across the state as well as several cities and locations across the country. As the protest continued, a mob broke police barricades and barged inside RG Kar Hospital and went on a rampage. The mob vandalised the Emergency Ward and also damaged the second floor wards of the building.
Hearing the case today, the bench of Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya came down heavily on the police in connection with the vandalism inside RG Kar Hospital on the night of August 14. Raising concerns, the court observed that when the police cannot protect themselves and the people at large, how will they ensure law and order is maintained? “The police say around five to seven thousand people had gathered near the hospital and were involved in the vandalism. It is hard to believe that the intelligence wing the police had no idea about this,” the court said.
Additional Solicitor General Ashok Chakraborty told the court that as per the directions of the court, a special team has already been formed to probe the crime and the team has been appraised about incidents that happened during the intervening night of August 14 and 15. The team will visit the spot and take stock of the situation.
The bench today criticised the state government and asked the reasons behind renovation work being conducted beside the seminar hall of the Pulmonology Department, where the student’s body was found. The court asked why was the renovation work initiated after it had handed over the probe of the incident to the CBI? To this, the state government reasoned that the renovation work was being conducted as per the requests of the doctors of the department who had sought for a separate resting room. The government also said that the crime scene was not disturbed.
Soon after hearing this, the court directed the state government to file an affidavit stating what security measures were taken to ensure security of the crime scene and what steps are currently being taken to enforce those measures.
The bench also heard the appeal of former RG Kar Medical College principal Dr Sandip Ghosh’s plea of security. The advocate representing Dr Ghosh told the court that his client was fully cooperating with the CBI and pleaded with the court for central or state security cover. To this, the court said the former principal was an influential person and the state government was with him. “Who do you need extra security? You are an influential person. Stay home and in peace. If needed, we will post central force personnel outside.”
The bench today requested everyone to be cautious about revealing the identity of the victim on any platform, including social media. “Everyone, including news outlets, should refrain from revealing the identity of the victim as there are clear rulings on this by the Supreme Court,” the bench observed.
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