The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is probing the Kolkata doctor rape and murder case, told the Supreme Court on Thursday that they were handed the investigation on Day 5 and everything was “altered” by then.
Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, who was representing CBI, told the top court, “CBI entered the probe on the fifth day and everything was altered by then.”
The central probe agency submitted its status report in compliance with the Supreme Court’s Tuesday directive and flagged issues with the date and time recorded by the Kolkata Police. The CBI also informed the court that former RG Kar principal, who they were questioning, was linked to several financial irregularities in the medical college and he had allegedly rented the surveillance cameras in the facility instead of buying them.
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“One aspect is the Daily Diary (DD) entry by Kolkata Police was made at 10:10 am, but the crime scene was secured only in the late evening. It’s disturbing,” SG Mehta told the three-judge Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud.
Kolkata Police Did Not Follow CrPC Rules: SC
To this, the court asked senior lawyer Kapil Sibal (appearing for the Bengal government) when the post-mortem was conducted. Sibal responded saying that the autopsy was done between 6:10 to 7:10 pm.
The court said as the body was taken for autopsy, it was a case of unnatural death. The court then asked Sibal when the inquest panchnama was drawn.
Following questioning, the apex court observed that the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) guidelines to handle a case of unnatural death were not followed by the Kolkata Police. The court asked Sibal to bring along the police officer responsible who could apprise the court of what exactly happened after the body was discovered.
Justice JB Pardiwala then commented, “The entire procedure followed by your state (West Bengal) is something which I have not come across in the 30 years of my career.”
The Supreme Court said though the crime took place in the night, the crime scene was secured after more than 18 hours around 7 pm on August 9 after the post-mortem of the body.
The court said, “See it is clear that an unnatural death case was registered at 11:30 pm after the officer came back to the police station. This is after the post-mortem.” The apex court then orally suggested the CBI to look into the irregularity.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said that the FIR was registered at 11:45 am after the body’s cremation, and the videography was only conducted after senior doctors and the victim’s colleagues insisted, indicating they also suspected foul play.
Supreme Court also directed the Kolkata Police officer, who registered the first entry about the rape-murder incident, to appear at the next hearing to disclose the time.
During the hearing of the case on Tuesday, after taking suo-moto cognisance of the case, the SC bench had pulled up the West Bengal government and criticised the role of the state police and the former principal of the institution, Sandip Kumar Ghosh. The bench also questioned the role of Ghosh and said it seemed there was an attempt to pass off the murder as a suicide.
Case Diary
The case pertains to the rape and murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9. The prime accused, civic volunteer Sanjoy Roy, has been arrested. Amid the ongoing protests, some miscreants entered the premises of state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 14 and vandalised portions of the medical facility, where the body of the victim was found. The Calcutta High Court on August 13 had an order to transfer the probe from Kolkata Police to the CBI.
The horrific incident has shaken the country with nationwide protests going on demanding prompt action in the investigation.
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