Rallies demanding justice for RG Kar doctor rock Kolkata
KOLKATA, Sep 15: A local court here on Sunday sent former principal of RG Kar hospital Sandip Ghosh and Tala police station officer-in-charge Abhijit Mondal to CBI custody till September 17, an officer said.
Both Ghosh and Mondal were produced before a court here by the central agency in connection with the rape-murder of a doctor at the state-run hospital.
“We have got their custody for three days till September 17. Now, both will be questioned together. The duo has played vital roles in the RG Kar case,” the officer told the media.
The CBI, probing the case, had on Saturday evening arrested Mondal and added charges of evidence tampering against Ghosh, who is currently in judicial custody in a corruption case related to the RG Kar hospital.
Mondal also faces accusations of tampering with evidence, delaying registration of the FIR, and other related offences, according to the officer.
The RG Kar Medical College and Hospital falls under the jurisdiction of Tala PS.
The police officer was held after he “failed to provide satisfying answers” during questioning by the CBI officers on Saturday.
The CBI claimed in court that “there could be a bigger conspiracy” and that both Ghosh and Mondal had played some “vital roles” in this crime.
The two were in touch with each other, and the former issued instructions to the policeman on how to proceed with the rape-murder case.
Mondal was informed about the death of the doctor around 10 am on August 9, but the FIR was lodged around 11 pm, the CBI said.
Both of them tried to “downplay the incident” as well as “shield” the heinous crime, it said in court.
The police should have treated it as a suo motu case at the outset, since it’s a rape-murder incident, the central probe agency said.
The CBI arrested Ghosh on September 2 in connection with financial irregularities at the hospital.
Protests continue
A day after their proposed talks with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to resolve the impasse over the RG Kar issue fell through, agitating junior doctors on Sunday took out a mega protest march in Salt Lake area demanding justice for the victim.
Holding placards with slogans such as ‘Arji noi dabi kor’ (don’t request but demand), hundreds of agitators drenched in rain marched from Central Park to Swasthya Bhawan, the headquarters of the state health department, where they have been staging a sit-in for the last six days.
They also raised demands for the resignation of Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal, West Bengal health secretary and other officials.
“We have been waiting for the last 36 days and still there is no assurance. When will we get justice for our sister?” one of the junior doctors said while addressing participants of the march.
The proposed talks to resolve the impasse over the RG Kar issue fell through on Saturday with the agitating doctors, who had agreed to join the meeting with the West Bengal government after Banerjee’s appeal, claiming that they were asked to leave the venue, the CM’s Kalighat residence, “unceremoniously” despite relenting on their live-streaming demand.
Banerjee had on Saturday afternoon made a surprise visit to the protest site outside Swasthya Bhawan in Salt Lake and assured the doctors that she would look into their demands and take action if anyone was found guilty.
Junior doctors are on a ‘cease work’ stir for the 36th day demanding justice for the woman medic who was allegedly raped and murdered in RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in north Kolkata. (PTI)