Kolkata:
Amid nationwide protests over the chilling rape and murder of a 31-year-old doctor in Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, the Calcutta High Court today ordered that the investigation be transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The court noted serious lapses on the response of the hospital administration after the doctor was found dead in its seminar hall on Friday morning, her clothes in disarray and injuries all over her body.
The parents of the victim, the court said, want an investigation by an independent body to ensure that evidence is not tampered with. it cited the KV Rajendran case in which the Supreme Court ruled that power of transferring a case must be used in rarest of rare cases to ensure fair and complete investigation.
The court today came down heavily on Dr Sandip Ghosh, the former principal of the state-run college, saying it was “disheartening” that he was not “proactive”. The court also flagged that the former Principal was given the same role in another college hours after he resigned. The court said he must be immediately relieved of his duties and sent on leave.
Pulling up the government for appointing Dr Ghosh as the Principal of Calcutta National Medical College shortly after his resignation, the court said, “The appropriate authority should have bear in mind the circumstances under which the resignation was given. Therefore, even that resignation was not accepted, the least that can be expected from the department is to release the Principal from the administrative responsibility and not assign him any other duty of equal responsibility. This professor has been made Principal of another medical college. It is not clear what was the urgency in doing so.”
The administration, the court noted, was not with the victim or the family of the victim. “The case on hand is a peculiar case. There should be no further loss of time. There may be possibility of evidence being tampered,” the court said.
The high court also noted that it would have given more time to state police under “normal circumstances”. “Even after five days there have been no significant conclusions which should have happened by now. Therefore, we are justified that there is every possibility that evidence will be destroyed. We deem it appropriate that the case must be transferred to CBI with immediate effect,” the court said.