Kolkata Police notes reveal that RG Kar Medical College principal Sandip Ghosh was examined and his statement recorded on August 13, three days after the rape and murder of a trainee doctor on the premises — a detail previously unknown.
The development comes amid the Supreme Court questioning the former principal’s role on August 9, the day of the crime. As the details of the investigation surface, apart from questions about the time lag in filing of the FIR, some new facts have also emerged in the case that has triggered massive outrage.
The focus has now shifted to why the hospital delayed filing an FIR, opting instead to send a confidential intimation six hours after a PG student discovered the victim’s body and raised an alarm. The delay has sparked critical questions about the hospital’s handling of the case.
The FIR was registered by the victim’s parents around 11.45pm on August 9, almost 14 hours after the body was found. Sandip Ghosh’s first statement was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as part of the case diary, and his interrogation continues since then. Further, the CBI has received the court’s approval to conduct a polygraph test on him.
News18 has pieced together the sequence of events that unfolded in and around RG Kar Hospital in Kolkata between August 9 and August 13, until the case was handed over to the CBI as directed by the Calcutta High Court.
So, how did the intervening days pass? Here is the final piece of News18’s two-part series that began with reliving the day the doctor’s body was found.
Scratches, Abrasion Marks Found on Roy
Sanjay Roy, the prime accused in RG Kar Hospital rape and murder, was picked up from a police barrack within 10 hours of the FIR being lodged by the victim’s parents. According to investigation documents and police notes, some new injuries were found on Roy, which included scratches on left cheek, abrasion in left hand between his left and ring finger, abrasion over the back of left thigh etc.
The same day, his mobile phone was seized, but data could not be extracted. It took two more days for the experts to clone his phone. However, Kolkata Police had the medical and medico-legal examination of the accused done at SSKM Hospital on the day of his arrest, and doctors collected samples like urethral swab, semen, hair, nail clippings and nail scraping. Later in the day, Roy was eventually revealed to be a civic police volunteer of Kolkata Police.
On August 13, the exhibits collected by experts of the state Forensic Science Laboratory from the SOC (scene of crime) and those collected by a board of autopsy surgeons during the post-mortem examination were submitted to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) for further forensic investigation and DNA profiling. There had been a time lag here too, which is also not explained in the notes or in the timeline submitted with the Supreme Court by the Kolkata Police.
Politically Connected Civic Volunteer Arrested
Kolkata Police identified the prime suspect using CCTV footage. Roy was seen entering and exiting the seminar hall where the crime occurred. A crucial clue — a discarded earphone found near the victim’s body — led investigators straight to Roy, who was later picked up from the police barracks. However, his professional identity was not revealed immediately, and it came to fore later.
During the course of investigation, it was found that Roy’s primary work was to influence police personnel and civic police in favour of the ruling Trinamool Congress and manage or mobilise them when needed. He spent a few nights in West Midnapore’s Salua, where the headquarters of the Eastern Frontier Rifles (EFR) — a state armed police force — is located.
It is not known what work he was assigned. However, he was learnt to have mentioned that he was sent for meetings. His hotel bills and other expenses were taken care of. He is also a member of the police welfare board, which is politically aligned and a parallel structure to police personnel in uniform.
News18 had first reported the alleged malpractices in the civic police volunteer force in terms of recruiting the personnel and posting them in significant government installations without any proper screening.
The Intervening Days — Between August 9 & 13
By 10.21am on August 10, Roy’s mobile phone was seized, and by noon, he underwent a comprehensive medico-legal examination at SSKM Hospital. Later, the court approved his remand to police custody until August 23, while evidence, including CCTV footage and incriminating articles, was seized and processed.
The investigation continued with the collection of additional evidence, including blood samples from Roy and forensic analysis of his mobile phone. Detailed statements were recorded from multiple individuals, including hospital staff and colleagues of the victim. In the meantime, the court ordered the collection of original reports and data from various sources.
By August 13, blood samples were collected, and forensic and DNA analysis was conducted on all evidence forwarded to CFSL Kolkata. The extraction of data from Roy’s mobile phone was completed in court, and notices were served to 16 individuals for their statements. The same day, Ghosh was interrogated and his statement was recorded.
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