Calcutta HC orders fresh CBI probe into RG Kar rape-murder case

The Calcutta High Court on Thursday ordered setting up a three-member special investigation team (SIT) of the CBI to probe the developments from the time the R G Kar Medical College's trainee doctor had dinner on the ill-fated night of August 2024 to her cremation. The young medic was raped and murdered in the hospital on the night of August 9, 2024, which caused an uproar in the state as well as among the doctors' community across the country. There have been allegations that evidence was destroyed and attempts were made to downplay the incident in its immediate aftermath.
The high court division bench comprising Justices Shampa Sarkar and Tirthankar Ghosh said CBI Joint Director (Eastern Zone) will lead the team. The other two members of the team, it said, should be decided within 48 hours. The bench has directed the CBI to examine the events from the time the doctor had dinner on the night of the incident to her cremation. It said that considering the social ramifications of the incident, the SIT will examine the allegations by the victim's parents that evidence was destroyed and there had been attempts to hush up and downplay the matter.
The CBI has been granted full freedom to question anyone they deem necessary during the investigation. The high court asked the SIT to submit its investigation report by June 25, when the matter will be heard again.The parents of the RG Kar victim had earlier moved the court seeking another probe into the rape and murder of their daughter, claiming that more than one person was involved in the incident. The police had arrested civic volunteer Sanjay Roy, who has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the crime.