Kolkata Doctor’s Murder: CBI to Probe Four Doctors for Potential Evidence Tampering

Kolkata, 23rd August 2024: Four colleagues of the 31-year-old doctor who was raped and murdered at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital are set to undergo lie-detector tests due to inconsistencies in their statements, according to CBI sources. The group includes two first-year postgraduate trainees, a house surgeon, and an intern.

While the CBI does not currently suspect the four doctors of direct involvement in the crime, it aims to determine if they were involved in tampering with evidence or if there was any conspiracy. Investigators have reconstructed the sequence of events leading up to the doctor’s assault and murder.

The Kolkata Police’s timeline indicates that one of these doctors discovered the victim’s body in the seminar hall around 9:30 a.m. the following day and reported it to the authorities. Before the CBI’s involvement, the city police had questioned these doctors.

CBI Findings
The CBI has identified fingerprints of two of the doctors in the third-floor seminar room where the body was found. Surveillance footage shows the house surgeon moving from the first to the third floor around 2:00 a.m. that night, a claim the house surgeon corroborates. Additionally, the intern, who was present on the third floor and interacted with the victim that night, is part of the investigation.

Events of the Night
Sources reveal that the victim and two first-year postgraduate trainees had dinner around midnight and later watched Neeraj Chopra’s javelin event in the seminar room. Around 2:00 a.m., the two trainees went to the sleep room where on-duty doctors rest, while the victim remained in the seminar room. The intern reported being in the interns’ room. All three rooms—seminar hall, sleep room, and interns’ room—are located near each other on the third floor.

The Morning After
At approximately 9:30 a.m., one of the postgraduate trainees, who had dined with the victim, went to find her before ward rounds began. He saw her body from a distance in a motionless state, according to the Kolkata Police timeline. He then alerted his colleagues and senior doctors, who notified the hospital authorities.

Lie-Detector Test
The CBI has received authorization to conduct lie-detector tests on the four doctors and Dr Sandip Ghosh, the former principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, who has faced criticism for his handling of the situation. A special court approved the tests yesterday. Such tests require both court approval and the consent of the individuals involved.