This viral audio clip in West Bengal lays open the rot in the healthcare system and RG Kar Medical College & Hospital, in particular.
All this is happening under Mamata Banerjee’s watch, who also happens to be the Health Minister.
Much of it has also been written about in the… pic.twitter.com/N4ZLShB24r— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) August 15, 2024
Doctor was a second-year postgraduate student in the Chest Medicine Department. According to the police, the incident likely occurred on Thursday night or early Friday morning. Both the victim’s parents and hospital doctors suspect that she may have been sexually assaulted before being murdered.
Injury marks were found on her lips, neck, and cheeks, which appeared to be scratches. The body has been sent for a postmortem, and the police are reviewing CCTV footage; however, there were no cameras installed in the seminar hall.
Sanjoy Roy, the prime suspect in Dr murder case has confessed to his crime. Roy, who is a civic police volunteer, has been charged under sections 64 (rape) and 103 (murder) of the Bengal Criminal Law. He was apprehended on Saturday and is currently in police custody for 14 days. During a court appearance at the Sealdah court, he was remanded to police custody until August 23.
The investigation has taken a disturbing turn with the discovery of explicit pornographic videos on Roy’s mobile phone. This new evidence has intensified the scrutiny around the case. Sources reveal that Roy had entered the hospital premises at around 4 a.m. and was captured on CCTV footage interacting with police officers. He was seen wearing an earphone upon entry, which was later found missing when he exited the premises. The earphone has been seized by the police and is considered a crucial piece of evidence in solving the case.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has spoken with the victim’s parents, assuring them of an impartial investigation. The Police Commissioner and the State Health Secretary also visited the hospital to investigate the matter.
PG students and doctors at the hospital are protesting the incident, demanding that the postmortem be conducted in the presence of a judicial magistrate. The hospital has formed an 11-member committee to investigate the incident.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has accused the state government of trying to suppress the case and has staged protests.
Dr. Manas Gumta, former General Secretary of the Association of Health Service Doctors, has called the incident extremely serious and demanded an investigation by a high-level team or judicial committee. He alleges that the police are trying to cover up the case by suggesting it was a suicide, which he believes is false. He has called for an expert team from outside the college to conduct the postmortem.
Resident doctors at the medical college have also demanded that the postmortem be conducted under the supervision of a judicial magistrate. They believe the procedure should be overseen by a committee of senior surgeons and forensic experts.
The Indian Medical Association – Junior Doctors Network (IMA-JDN) has also written to the Kolkata Police Commissioner with similar demands. Many doctors and healthcare workers have expressed their grief and concern on social media, stating that this incident reflects a major failure of the administration, and doctors no longer feel safe even in their own colleges.
The doctors are calling for a CBI investigation into the case and severe punishment for the culprits.