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RG Kar medical student rape-murder: Mamata Banerjee says 'inhuman crime, no objection to CBI probe'

by Trans World Features | @twfindia 11 Aug 2024, 06:03 am

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has called the alleged rape and murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata "inhuman and deplorable crime" and said she has no objection to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the incident that led the state government face the heat.

Speaking to ABP Ananda, Banerjee said, "This was an inhuman and deplorable crime. I feel as if I have lost a family member. We can never defend such a crime. There can be no leniency for this kind of crime."

"I stand by the doctors. Their demands are completely justified... The role of the hospital authorities will also be probed and if negligence is proved, action will be taken," she added.

"The culprit will not be spared," said the Chief Minister who said she spoke to the parents of the victim.

The incident has triggered a political slugfest with Leader of Opposition and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Suvendu Adhikari demanding a CBI probe into the incident.

"This is a clear case of murder (with the probability of rape). The case should be immediately transferred to the CBI (@CBIHeadquarters). Instead the State Govt has formed a 11 member enquiry committee for this incident. Strangely some of the Committee members are Internees," Adhikari posted on X.

When asked about the demand for a CBI probe, Banerjee said she is open to it.

"The state government has formed an 11-member inquiry committee. Some of the committee members are interns. In my opinion, the state government is either trying to sweep the matter under the mat so that the negligence on their part doesn't get exposed or they are not at all serious about this matter," the Chief Minister said.

One person has been detained in connection with the suspected rape and murder of a second-year female medical student.

According to reports, the detained person was an outsider but he used to visit the hospital quite regularly.

Police are trying to find if any other person was involved in the incident.

The body of the 31-year-old post-graduate student had injury marks and was recovered under mysterious conditions.

The victim, who hailed from Sodepur near Kolkata, and was pursuing her post-graduation in Chest Medicine. She was on duty on Thursday night.

The initial autopsy report found her body had several injury marks.

The report states that the victim was bleeding from eyes, mouth and private parts. Injury marks were visible on the face, lips, neck, nails, stomach, right-hand ring finger, left leg and left leg ankle, reported The Telegraph.

Tension in hospital

The incident has triggered a massive outage in the state-run RG Kar Medical College Hospital with fellow PGTs, interns and house staff joining a flash strike, disrupting regular operations in the medical facility.

Various medical bodies and political outfits have also criticised the incident.

Victim's father allege they were initially informed their daughter committed suicide by hospital authorities.

He told The Telegraph: "I wonder why the hospital authorities had initially told us that she had committed suicide. What were they trying to hide?"

Demanding justice for her daughter, he said: "She did not deserve this. We want the truth to come out."

According to media reports, she had dinner with her juniors around 2 AM and then went to the seminar room.

Her body was found in the seminar room of the Emergency building by fellow students.