Kolkata horror: CBI probing if other persons involved in any manner

Terming the CBI’s report on the probe into the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata as “worse” and “really disturbing”, the Supreme Court on Tuesday said the agency was investigating if there was complicity of other persons in the case.

A Bench led by CJI DY Chandrachud, however, refused to divulge further details, saying it would jeopardise the probe.

“Making a disclosure today of what the CBI is investigating will jeopardise the process, the line which is taken by the CBI is to unearth the truth...The SHO has been arrested himself....we have seen status report and the CBI has responded to all of the issues we have raised, including whether the challan was given, what was the process of PMR (post-mortem report), whether evidence was destroyed… if any complicity by other persons etc…” said the Bench, which also included Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra.

After perusing the status report submitted by CBI DIG Satya Veer Singh, the Bench noted that the CBI was not sleeping over the probe and that the agency needed time to "unearth the truth." The CBI was also examining if the crime scene was altered, it added.

After a counsel pointed out that the jeans and undergarments of the victim were not taken, the CJI said, "What the CBI has revealed in the report is worse, really disturbing…What you are flagging is of utmost concern, we ourselves are concerned, CBI has flagged it for us… We are ourselves disturbed by what we have read."

The top court asked the agency to look into “genuine concern” expressed by the victim’s father regarding certain specific leads in the probe in a letter to the Bench. “It's confidential. We will say these are very valuable inputs for the CBI… They are handicapped themselves at this point in time by the 5-day delay, but they should also look at this to ensure this is obtained,” the CJI said.

Regarding the “missing” post-mortem challan flagged by the top court in the previous hearing, Sibal said it has not been in use in the state since 1997. As the Solicitor General termed it "unfortunate”, the Bench said, "We don't buy the explanation, once there is a statutory form, you can't say that it was not used." The CBI will examine this aspect, it said.

The post-mortem challan is a crucial document which would have entries regarding the articles and material sent along with the body for autopsy.

The Bench expressed serious concern over the state government’s move to hire private security personnel on a contractual basis for hospitals’ security, saying main accused Sanjay Roy was also a civic volunteer on contract. Senior counsel Kapil Sibal, representing the Bengal Government, said the state will implement a biometric registration system to restrict access to places where women doctors rest.

After Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the CBI, complained that Wikipedia has not removed the name and photo of the victim, the Bench ordered Wikipedia to remove the name and photo of the victim.

On behalf of the junior doctors’ association, senior counsel Indira Jaising submitted that they have information indicating the presence of other persons at the crime scene and said she would share the details in a sealed cover with the CBI.

At the very outset Sibal raised the issue of threats to the women lawyer representing the West Bengal Government. “We are getting threats that acid will be thrown, we will be raped,” he told the Bench.

Sibal said the state government has taken confidence building measures to create confidence among doctors that their concerns regarding safety and security were being addressed. “Work has begun for making resting rooms for male and female doctors, which will be completed in 7-14 days. Additional toilets and CCTV camera installation will be completed in 7-14 days,” he said.

The Bench took on record the state government’s assurance that no punitive or adverse actions will be taken against the doctors for their month-long strike after they return to work after Jaising raised the issue.

It also rebuked a lawyer for demanding resignation of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. "This is not a political forum, you are a member of the Bar, and we don't require your affirmation to what we say. What you say has to abide by the rules of legal discipline. We are not here to see what you feel about a particular political functionary or the other… that’s not our concern. We are specifically dealing with the grievances of doctors. If you ask me to direct that the Chief Minister should resign, that is not part of the court's remit. I am sorry, you please listen to me otherwise I will have you removed from the court.”

Noting that protest can’t be at the cost of duty, the top court had earlier asked the West Bengal doctors protesting against the rape and murder of a colleague of theirs at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata to report back to work by 5 PM September 10.

The junior doctors in West Bengal have been on strike since August 9 when a badly injured body of a post-graduate trainee doctor was found in the seminar room of the RG Kar Hospital, Kolkata.

The Kolkata Police initially registered a case of unnatural death and arrested Sanjay Roy -- a civic volunteer the next day. However, acting on a petition filed by the victim’s parents, the Calcutta High Court on August 13 transferred the probe to the CBI, expressing dissatisfaction over the investigation conducted by the Kolkata Police. The CBI questioned Dr Sandip Ghosh, former Principal of RG Kar Medical College and then arrested him in a corruption case and the rape and murder case.