RG Kar case: 2 years on, TMC leader Nirmal Ghosh arrested over ‘cover-up’ role

Ghosh’s son Tirthankar was arrested on July 13 over his alleged involvement in post-poll violence and extortion. He was fielded by the TMC from Panihati in place of his father in the assembly elections held earlier this year, lost to BJP nominee Ratna Debnath, the mother of the victim doctor.

BJP spokesperson Debjit Sarkar said the present government will ensure that no outside intervention takes place in the investigation.

“The Mamata Banerjee-led government had tried to stall the probe and made every attempt to jeopardise it, including preventing names of its party leaders from featuring in the FIRs. That will not happen anymore. Law will take its own course and all those who are behind this crime will face justice,” he said.

The complaint names three people: Nirmal Ghosh, former TMC MLA and former chief whip in the Assembly; Somnath Dey, Panihati Municipality Councillor; Sanjeev Mukherjee, a neighbour of the victim’s family.

Senior officers confirmed the FIR includes charges for wrongful restraint, disappearance of evidence, framing of incorrect records by a public servant, criminal trespass, and showing disrespect to human corpses.

Police inquiries at the Panihati crematorium revealed several irregularities on the day of the cremation in August 2024. The victim’s body was rushed for final rites ahead of two other waiting bodies. Standard cremation charges were unexpectedly waived. The authorisation forms were signed by neighbours instead of the victim’s parents or immediate family.

Chanda Ghosh, the daughter of Nirmal Ghosh, told the media, “We did not know where he was. For the past two months, he has not been staying at home. The police have repeatedly asked us about his whereabouts, but we simply do not know.”

“My father was an MLA and always stood by the families of the dead, no matter who they were in Panihati. He has consistently cooperated with the investigation. The police deemed it necessary to arrest him, so he was taken into custody. We will pursue legal action. We plan to appeal to the Chief Minister, requesting that he also consider our family.”

Dipanita Ghosh, the daughter-in-law, said, “We learned about the arrest through the news. Until we have a chance to meet him, we cannot comment further. My father-in-law left home a long time ago and did not contact us or inform us of his whereabouts.”

“We trust that the police will carry out their duties with the support of the state administration. He is unwell and 80 years old, so we hope the authorities will take that into consideration. We have never discussed his work or the RG Kar issue with him.”

The fresh probe was ordered by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on August 8, the second death anniversary of the junior doctor, directing state police to launch an independent investigation parallel to the ongoing court-monitored Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe.

“There is a mystery why no charge was taken for the cremation of the victim’s body. Why was the victim’s body cremated without the signature of any family member? All these will be probed again. Within the limited jurisdiction I have in this case, I am committed to that cause. We have not forgotten Abhaya (the symbolic name accorded to the victim), not forgotten her at all,” Chief Minister Adhikari said.

Parents, protesters allege cover-up

The victim’s body was found in a seminar room at Kolkata’s state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9, 2024, following her rape and murder the previous night.

Her parents and protesting junior doctors have maintained from the beginning that both the postmortem and cremation were conducted in undue haste under the supervision of the accused to prevent a second autopsy.

Dr Asfakulla Naiya, one of the leaders of the junior doctors’ movement which took place in the aftermath of the crime, said the community was still in the dark on the facts of the case.

“It’s good that fresh arrests are taking place. But we still do not have any clarity on what happened on the intervening night of August 8-9, 2024, when that horrible crime took place. We have reasons to believe that the real investigation is being inordinately delayed,” he said.

A 33-year-old civic volunteer, Sanjoy Roy, was convicted of the rape and murder, and sentenced to imprisonment for life.

Despite the conviction, the victim’s family has alleged that the larger conspiracy behind the crime remains unresolved, with several individuals allegedly involved in it yet to be brought within the police net.

(with PTI inputs)