Female trainee doctor death case: CBI team to visit Kolkata tomorrow, opposition demands Mamata Banerjee's resignation

Aug 13, 2024

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], August 13 : The Central Bureau of Investigation will send a medical and forensic team from Delhi to Kolkata tomorrow after the Calcutta High Court ordered a CBI investigation in the sexual assault and death of a female trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
The Court has asked the Kolkata Police to hand over all documents to the CBI immediately.
A protesting doctor reacted to the news, "We are very happy and relieved that the case has been transferred to CBI. The accused will be arrested soon now."
After the High Court's decision, the opposition parties targeted Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led state government and demanded her resignation along with other officials.
West Bengal LoP Suvendu Adhikari said, "I welcome this. I have said from day one that there should be a court-monitored CBI probe... Now we demand that the health minister and the chief minister should resign. The CM is involved and her personal physician and very close aide Dr SP Das is the main person. He is controlling the health department in West Bengal."
Union Health Minister JP Nadda slammed the Trinamool government in West Bengal on Tuesday over the sexual assault and murder of a female doctor. He expressed concern, saying that it is worrying that atrocities against women are increasing daily in the state, despite having a woman Chief Minister.
Nadda welcomed the Calcutta High Court's decision to order a CBI investigation into the case, stating, "The incident involving a young PG student in West Bengal is deeply distressing and has shocked the nation. I condemn it and express my profound sorrow that such an inhumane act has occurred. The way the incident was handled and the government's attempts to hide it are inexcusable. Bengal has become a state where there is no law and order; lawlessness is rampant. The sad reality is that atrocities against women are increasing daily, despite having a female Chief Minister. This is even more worrying."
Earlier in the day, Nadda met with a delegation from the Indian Medical Association (IMA). The IMA had requested a thorough inquiry into the circumstances leading to the crime and measures to enhance the safety of doctors, particularly women, in the workplace.
BJP leader Locket Chatterjee said on Tuesday that it will reveal who is involved in this. She also alleged that this heinous crime was not a one-person job.
Chatterjee targeted Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, stating, "A CBI inquiry has been ordered. We welcome this because we know that in all such incidents that have happened in West Bengal, no action has been taken by Mamata Banerjee. A daughter has been murdered in the RG Kar Hospital. A CBI investigation will tell us who is involved in this. Kolkata Police and the CID cannot do this. Because it is the police who lied in the beginning."
"The police called her parents and said that it was a suicide. The CBI should acquire all the evidence immediately because they might tamper with it. This heinous crime was not a one-person job. Names of all the influential people involved should be out in the open," the BJP leader added.
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury criticized the state administration for its handling of the case.
He said, "It is condemnable. The state government should take action but remains in a dilemma. The law and order situation is worsening. The state government is not capable and seems intent on helping the accused."
However, the doctors announced today that they will continue their protest till their demands are met.
Protesting doctors and medical students also conveyed that their protests will be carried on until their demands of installing CCTV cameras, establishing proper security measures, and providing compensation to the victim's parents are met.
Addressing media persons, Dr Lahari Sarkar, Resident Doctor, on behalf of all protestors, said, "We have just received the update about the case being transferred to the CBI. We welcome this decision with all our support. We support this decision. However, just handing over the case doesn't mean justice is served, so we will continue the protests until the culprits are identified and proper punishment is given."
She clarified that emergency services at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital will continue; however, OPD services will not function any time soon.
Protests were seen across different regions across the country from Delhi, Mumbai, Patna, and Rajasthan to West Bengal.
Earlier, the Calcutta High Court asked the former principal of RG Kar Medical College Sandip Ghosh to submit a leave application. This comes after Ghosh's appointment as principal of Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata immediately after his resignation from RG Kar College triggered protests.
Sandip Ghosh resigned from the position of principal at RG Kar Medical College on Monday alleging that he was being defamed on social media platforms following the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at the hospital premises.
The post-graduate trainee doctor was found dead in the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on August 9. The family has alleged that the victim was raped and murdered.