“Welcome CBI probe, now CM must resign,” says BJP Suvendu Adhikari after HC hands probe into doctor rape and murder to CBI

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], August 13 (ANI): After the Calcutta High Court ordered a CBI investigation into the sexual assault and murder of a woman doctor, the BJP said it welcomed the decision and the CM should now resign.

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 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.”

Meanwhile, as the verdict was read out one of the counsels Advocate Billwadal Bhattacharyya said that the police were casual enough to register a suicide case and took a long time even to file an FIR. He also mentioned that they always wanted the investigation to be monitored by the Court.

“There were statements made by the Chief Minister that they have no objection to transferring the case to the CBI but it was made time-bound that we will transfer it to the CBI after the expiry of this particular period. But we say this delay will be fatal because evidence will be destroyed. So the court has heard the arguments of the parties. Today the parents of the victim girl, also were there before the Court by way of a petition. And I contended on behalf of my clients, that despite this gruesome murder, despite the body being in such a bloodied state and half naked, the police were casual enough to register a suicide case and it took quite a lot of time for the police to basically register an FIR and thereafter arrest someone,” Advocate Billwadal said.

“So this was enough to indicate how casual the attitude of the police was. We are rather thankful to the Court that the case has been now handed over to CBI. We also wanted the investigation to be monitored by the Court. Now the Court has also directed the CBI to file periodic reports. In the event the parents of the deceased girl feel threatened, the CBI should always take all the necessary steps to give them protection under the witness protection scheme,” he added.

Another Advocate, Koustav Bagchi said that the investigation has been handed over to the CBI to instill confidence in the minds of the public.

“We are very much happy. We had prayed to the court that there should be a CBI investigation and it should be monitored by the court. The court has handed over the investigation to the CBI and the court will monitor it. To instil confidence in the minds of the public at large as well as the family of the victim, the investigation has been handed over to the CBI,” he said.

On the court’s decision, a protesting doctor said that they were very happy and relieved that the case had been transferred to CBI. The accused will be arrested soon now.

Meanwhile, the Court has asked the Kolkata Police to hand over all documents to the CBI immediately.

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.

The Chief Justice division bench of the Calcutta HC was considering several PILs in the matter on Tuesday.

A post-graduate trainee doctor was found dead inside the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on August 9. An investigation has established rape and murder. Reportedly, the body of the deceased bore scratch marks, indicating that there was some struggle at the time of the incident. The family has reportedly alleged that the victim was raped and murdered.

Union Health Minister JP Nadda held a meeting with a delegation of the Indian Medical Association on Tuesday. The Indian Medical Association (IMA) demanded an impartial and thorough investigation of the case and punishment of the culprits from the West Bengal government.

IMA had written to the health minister demanding a detailed inquiry into the conditions enabling the crime as well as the steps to improve the safety of doctors especially women in the workplace.