Calcutta HC orders fresh CBI SIT probe into RG Kar rape-murder case
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Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Thursday ordered a fresh investigation into the RG Kar rape-murder case by a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), headed by an officer of Joint Director rank.
The direction was issued by a division bench comprising Justice Shampa Sarkar and Justice Tirthankar Ghosh after hearing pleas filed by the victim’s family members seeking a reinvestigation into the case.
The court observed that the family’s demand for a fresh probe was justified and directed the CBI SIT to conduct the investigation. The next hearing has been scheduled for June 24, and the agency has been asked to submit a progress report before the bench on that date.
The victim, a junior doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, was found dead inside a seminar room on the hospital premises on August 9, 2024. The case had sparked widespread outrage across the country.
An SIT of Kolkata Police had initially investigated the matter and arrested Sanjay Roy, a former civic volunteer attached to Kolkata Police, who was later identified as the sole accused in the rape and murder case.
Following an earlier order of the Calcutta High Court, the CBI took over the investigation and subsequently named Roy as the sole accused in the crimes.
Roy was later convicted by a trial court and sentenced to life imprisonment. However, the CBI challenged the verdict before the Calcutta High Court, seeking the death penalty for him.
Dissatisfied with the progress of the investigation, the victim’s family approached the High Court demanding a fresh probe. They alleged that the CBI handled the investigation in a lackadaisical manner and merely endorsed the findings of the initial Kolkata Police probe.
The matter was initially being heard by a division bench comprising Justice Rajasekhar Mantha and Justice Rai Chattopadhyay. However, the bench later recused itself from hearing the case, after which it was reassigned to the bench of Justice Sarkar and Justice Ghosh.
Thursday marked only the second hearing before the new bench, which subsequently ordered the fresh CBI investigation into the case.
With IANS inputs