RG Kar horror: Supreme Court takes suo moto cognizance; Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) gets lead

New Delhi: The Supreme Court is slated to continue hearing on Tuesday on the matter where it has taken suo moto cognizance of the rape and murder of a junior doctor at the state-run R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata last month.

A three-judge bench, headed by CJI D. Y. Chandrachud will consider the fresh status report of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The CBI on Saturday arrested Abhijit Mondal, the former officer-in-charge of the Tala Police Station, under the jurisdiction of which R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital comes, in connection with the ghastly rape and murder of a junior doctor in the state-run hospital premises.

Mondal was in charge of the Tala Police Station when the body of the junior doctor was recovered from the seminar hall within the hospital premises on the morning of August 9.

On Sunday, the CBI counsel said that the investigating officers got definite clues about the telephonic conversation between Ghosh and Mondal on the morning of August 9 when the body of the junior doctor was recovered from the seminar hall located on the premises of R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital.

The counsel argued that the matter of conversation between Ghosh and Mondal on that morning needs an in-depth investigation and hence there is a need to take them in custody for further questioning in the matter.

According to him, the death was initially described as a suicide to the victim's parents. Besides, the process of the seizure of items as exhibits in the case started late. Eventually, the special court judge accepted the arguments of the CBI counsel and remanded Ghosh and Mondal to CBI custody for three days.

Sandip Ghosh, the former Principal of R.G. Kar Hospital, who was earlier arrested by the CBI in the case of financial irregularities at the institution, and is currently serving judicial custody, has also been shown as "arrested" in the rape and murder case.

In the hearing held last week, the SC told the CBI to file a fresh status report by September 17 and took on record the status report filed by the Central investigating agency in terms of its previous order.

"We have now seen the further line of the ongoing investigation. We do not want to comment anything in the open court. We will give you a week's time to tell us what further leads have emerged in the course of the investigation," said the Bench, also comprising Justices J. B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra.

Taking suo moto cognizance of the rape and murder case of the trainee doctor at a Kolkata hospital, the Supreme Court had termed the incident "horrific," which raises the "systemic issue of safety of doctors across the country."

"We are deeply concerned with the fact that there is an absence of safe conditions of work for young doctors across the country, particularly, public hospitals," it had said.

The top court ordered the formation of a National Task Force (NTF) to suggest measures for the security of medical professionals across the country, observing that the safety of doctors is the "highest national concern."

Further, it asked the NTF, set up by the government on its direction, to give a hearing to diverse medical associations while formulating effective recommendations relating to the safety, working conditions and well-being of doctors and medical professionals. (IANS)

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