The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is looking into whether the August brutal rape and murder of a 31-year-old doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College could be linked to other criminal activity involving the hospital administration, the Supreme Court revealed on Monday. The CBI has gathered “substantial leads” for its investigation.
A bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud reviewed the status reports filed by the CBI and noted that the agency was conducting a comprehensive investigation to determine whether the rape and murder had anything to do with financial mismanagement and administrative errors at the hospital.
The CBI has provided us with detailed updates on the current status of the inquiry. They are currently investigating some significant leads that have surfaced during the course of their research. “Let the CBI conduct additional investigation. They have provided updates on the cases of rape, murder, and financial irregularities,” the bench, which also included Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, stated.
The court emphasized the seriousness of the current inquiry and warned that any premature lead disclosure could jeopardize it. “Revealing the leads that the CBI is pursuing at this point in the investigation would be improper as it could jeopardize the probe,” the court stated.
During the proceedings, there was also a disagreement between the junior physicians and the West Bengal government on the junior doctors’ return to work after weeks of strike. The doctors’ legal representative disputed the state’s claim that the junior physicians were just handling emergency situations, asserting that the doctors were providing both emergency and essential care, including managing outpatient departments (OPDs).
The bench decided not to give any more instructions in this regard.
Junior doctors and other healthcare professionals protested as the court heard a suo motu case on the rape and murder, which has caused great outrage throughout West Bengal. On August 9, the postgraduate student in his second year was discovered deceased on the hospital grounds. The city police detained Sanjoy Roy, a volunteer for the Kolkata Police, the day following the crime. A high court judgment caused the matter to be transferred to the CBI.
The agency’s inquiry went beyond the immediate circumstances of the victim’s death, as revealed in the reports provided in confidence to the bench, Attorney General Tushar Mehta, who represented the CBI and the Center, was informed.
Concerning the continued “threat culture,” senior attorneys Indira Jaising and Karuna Nundy, speaking for various medical associations, emphasized that a number of the people under investigation were still in positions of authority.
Jaising went on to say that the crime involved more than just a straightforward rape and murder, suggesting that senior medical personnel may have been involved. She expressed concern about the doctors’ continued employment and asked that the seven doctors involved in the probe be suspended. In response, the bench requested an update from the West Bengal government regarding any steps made to suspend or take other action against the individuals that Jaising had named.
Senior attorney Rakesh Dwivedi, representing West Bengal, told the court that five physicians had already been suspended and that the state would take additional action in light of material evidence that the CBI had supplied.
At this point, the court instructed SG Mehta to inform the court on the following hearing date whether there are any patients at the hospital who may be connected to the crime or the financial irregularities that the CBI is looking into.
The bench also noted a request made by an intervenor, represented by lawyer J Sai Deepak, to broaden the scope of the current CBI probe in order to potentially look into further instances of criminal and administrative wrongdoing at other West Bengal hospitals.
The bench stated in its ruling that “the court shall take a call on what further directions would be needed for CBI, which may travel beyond the RG Kar incident,” opening the door for a more extensive investigation into financial irregularities and systemic problems in other healthcare facilities around the state.