Supreme Court Takes Up Kolkata Doctor Rape-Murder Case, Says DY Chandrachud in RG Kar Case

A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud will hear the matter on Tuesday. The case is currently being heard by the Calcutta High Court, which, during a recent hearing, ordered that the investigation be transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), overriding Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s deadline to the state police. There have been concerns raised about the police handling of the case from the beginning, including delays in allowing the woman’s parents to see the body, the postmortem report, and the prompt arrest of a civic volunteer, making it appear to be a straightforward case. Doctors, both on and off the record, have made comments suggesting that the extent of the woman’s injuries indicates the involvement of more than one attacker.

There have also been reports that the police hastily cremated the body, a claim that the Kolkata Police have denied. The 31-year-old doctor was murdered early on the morning of August 9. After a 36-hour shift, she had gone to an empty seminar room to rest, as the hospital lacked an on-call room. Her partially clothed body, bearing multiple injuries, was discovered the following morning.

The prime suspect is Sanjoy Roy, a civic volunteer with the Kolkata Police who was stationed at the police outpost at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital and had access to all departments. He was arrested based on CCTV footage that showed him entering the building where the doctor was found murdered. A Bluetooth headset found next to the woman’s body was seen on his neck in the footage, and it was discovered to be paired with his phone as well.