“Even after a lapse of five days, there appears to be no significant progress in the investigation… we would be well-justified in accepting the plea… that there is every possibility that the evidence will be destroyed and the witnesses will be influenced,” Justice Sivagnanam said.
The National Commission for Women's or NCW's preliminary findings highlighted a glaring deficiency in the investigation conducted by Kolkata Police.
The report alleged evidence tampering, stating that the seminar hall of the hospital where the crime took place was ordered 'sudden renovations'.
"The site where the deceased was allegedly raped and murdered is undergoing sudden renovation, potentially leading to tempering with the evidence. The crime scene should have been sealed immediately by the police," it said,
The NCW inquiry report also highlighted a glaring lack of security measures within the hospital premises. It pointed out the absence of basic amenities, especially for female doctors and nurses in the hospital.
"No security guards were present during the incident, and there was insufficient security coverage for on-call duty interns, doctors, and nurses during night shifts," the report stated.
"The RG Kar Hospital lacks basic amenities for female doctors and nurses, with washrooms in poor condition, no security measures, and inadequate lighting. There is no adequate protection or safety for on-call female duty interns, nurses, and female doctors," it added.
The 31-year-old postgraduate trainee doctor was raped and murdered while on duty at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on August 9.
A civic volunteer was arrested in connection with the crime the next day.
Amid the ongoing protests over the incident, some unidentified miscreants entered the hospital premises shortly after midnight on Thursday and vandalised portions of the medical facility, where the body of a woman doctor was found last week. The gimmick queen is at her tricks and denial games along with distortion and street protest not for the first time.
She holds the distinction of calling the Park Street gangrape case a few years ago as the "sajano ghotona" (fabricated incident).
She had shielded chit fund scam wrongdoers and in 2019 when city police commissioner was to be questioned, she had staged a protest and virtually protected him.
Mamata has always been keen on playing a national role, and the gory rape-murder in her state has sent doctors on strike across India. Outpatient department (OPD) services and surgeries have been impacted nationwide. The entire nation is concerned and talking about the law-and-order situation in Bengal.
A strike that doctors started on Monday has now spread all across. Initially it affected only government hospitals and elective surgeries.
Dr Johnrose Jayalal, the president of the association, said public anger was so high that the association felt compelled to intensify the strike – thought to be the biggest in a decade – to force the government to act. “Look, 50% of doctors are women, 90% of nursing staff are women. We want the government to take responsibility for ensuring their safety by declaring hospitals as protection zones [with security measures], just like airports and the courts,” he said.
Jayalal added that doctors were deeply concerned over the safety of female doctors and rising levels of violence generally against all doctors by patients’ families. There have been cases of doctors being beaten up when a patient has died.
The Opposition BJP, in keeping with its role, has upped the ante. It is protesting against the state's institutional failures at multiple levels, the scale and extent of which is undisputed. The ruling Trinamul establishment, clearly on the mat and bereft of a credible response, is left crying hoarse parroting ad nauseum the need for exemplary punishment for the crime that has riveted the nation's attention to Bengal.
Aapa's police have cut a sorry figure.
Having had their wings clipped and ridiculed by the judiciary for their inability to protect themselves from a mob of barely 40-odd goons, the police are left complaining about rumours and social media adventurism.
The students, the on-ground stakeholders historically at the receiving end of an apathetic state, are continuing with their protests.
The police commissioner has stated that the force has “lost the trust of the people,” attributing this to “a malicious media campaign.”
In the high court, judges expressed concerns about the “failure of law and order,” particularly noting the vandalism at the hospital by a mob of 7,000 people. Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam, heading the division bench that transferred the rape-murder case to the CBI, emphasised the need for action that would “instill confidence in the mind of the court”.
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