EVEN AS the verdict in the R G Kar rape and murder case is expected to be delivered by a Sealdah court on Saturday, the father of the victim – who was a junior doctor – said on Friday that the family was ready to wait for “five years for justice… We will not beg but we will fight, and if required, snatch justice.” He told The Indian Express, “Sanjoy (Roy, prime accused) is a criminal. He will be punished, and whatever the court feels, that punishment will be given to him. We have gone to the High Court and Supreme Court for justice.” “For five months, there has been no proper investigation. The investigation was only for the first three days and then nothing happened. We had never asked for a CBI investigation, but the court had ordered a CBI probe,” the father said. It was on August 9 last year that a 31-year-old junior doctor was raped and murdered at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. . A day after the crime, Sanjay Roy, who was then a civic volunteer, was arrested and charged with rape and murder. The case led to a nationwide furore and widespread protests. Junior doctors, who have been agitating since August, have called for the maximum punishment for Roy — but many claim that unanswered questions remain. Junior doctor Debasish Haldar said, “We have questions regarding the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) report. What was the motive? Who all were involved? Is it possible to commit such a crime alone? Why was evidence tampered with? Who all tried to spread the rumour (that the victim died by) suicide? These questions have to be answered.” “Sanjoy Roy should be given capital punishment… We want all the others who were involved to be found out, otherwise justice will not be complete. We wanted to keep faith in the CBI, but the way they did not frame a chargesheet against those whom they had arrested for tampering with evidence, why, nothing was answered by the CBI,” Haldar said. Meanwhile, TMC state vice president and spokesperson Joy Prakash Majumdar told The Indian Express that the “whole matter” has “vindicated the stand” of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the “action of state police.” “We have seen several courses of public agitation that demanded a CBI probe. In the end, we see that they are saying they have no faith in the CBI, and now the parents of the deceased doctor are saying that the CBI did not conduct the investigation properly. It shows that the protest had two main agendas: one asking for the highest punishment that was supported by Mamata Banerjee and the state government, but the second was politically motivated and that has been proved now,” Majumdar said. BJP leader Agnimitra Paul, however, claimed that “powerful people” were involved in the case apart from the accused, Sanjoy Roy. “The way the body was allegedly found and the way the body was allegedly taken from one place to another, as per the CBI, it is not possible for one person to do so. Others are involved and they should be brought to justice. We don’t have any expectations from Mamata Banerjee, the CID, and the state police… The CBI needs to deliver. We want capital punishment for such a crime, nothing less than that,” Paul said. CPI(M) central committee member Sujan Chakraborty told The Indian Express, “It is clear that neither the state administration nor the Centre has taken any initiative regarding the victim getting justice… So many days have passed, but other than one suspect, no one could be identified. Everyone can understand that this is not the work of one person.The ruling party is trying to cover up something. The common man’s faith is diminishing as they are understanding that some sort of setting or understanding has been made. We would like the punishment as said in the law.” Congress leader Soumya Aich said that there are “many mysteries” in the case. “Sandip Ghosh, the former principal of RG Kar, and the former OC of Tala police station Abhijit Mondol getting bail as the CBI could not submit a chargesheet… it is clear that the CBI is trying to prove that the state police is right… We want the strictest punishment for the accused and the conspirators.” The 31-year-old junior doctor’s body was found in the seminar room of the RG Kar hospital. It took 59 days for the completion of the trial after it began on November 11, 2024. The CBI took charge of the case on August 13, and the charges against the accused were framed on December 4. Meanwhile, the CBI arrested Tala police station officer-in-charge Abhijit Mandal and former RG Kar principal Sandip Ghosh. Both were arrested for alleged destruction of evidence and “hushing up” the case but in December 2024, both were granted bail by the Sealdah court as the CBI failed to file a chargesheet against both the accused 90 days after their arrest. Ghosh remains in judicial custody in another case related to alleged financial irregularities at the medical college.
