West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has given the police a one-week ultimatum to solve the rape-murder case of a 31-year-old doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College. She warned that if the police fail, the CBI will take over the investigation. Despite praising the law enforcement as ‘the best in the world,’ Banerjee imposed the deadline amid growing political pressure from the BJP.
” I want the police to arrest the accused as soon as possible. If they are unable to solve the case by Sunday, we will not keep it under our hands and will hand it over to the CBI,” the CM said.
#WATCH | Kolkata | On RG Kar Medical College and Hospital incident, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee says, “I want the Police to arrest the accused as early as possible. If the Police are unable to solve this case by Sunday, then we will not keep this case in our hands, we will… pic.twitter.com/a1fBya9Mub
— ANI (@ANI) August 12, 2024
Last week, the Chief Minister reiterated that she has no objection to the CBI, which operates under the BJP-led central government, taking over the case if that is what the protesting medical professionals demand. She stated, “… if agitating students want a probe by another agency, we are not against it.”
She expressed her confusion over how such an incident could occur. Banerjee shared, “When I first learned about the incident from the Kolkata Police Commissioner, I told him it was tragic and that immediate action was necessary, including the establishment of a fast-track court… There were nurses and security present, yet I still cannot comprehend how this incident happened.”
Kolkata Doctor Rape-Murder Case
A second-year chest medicine student was found dead on Friday morning in the seminar hall of a state-run hospital. The body bore injury marks, with the initial autopsy revealing bleeding from the eyes, mouth, private parts, left leg, neck, right hand, ring finger, and lips.
The student had been on duty the previous night. Sanjoy Roy, a civic volunteer who often visited the hospital, has been arrested in connection with the case. The incident has triggered nationwide protests by doctors and political opposition.