RG Kar case: Rape or gang-rape? Calcutta HC asks CBI, seeks diary

Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court has directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to clarify whether the woman doctor from R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata was a victim of “rape” or “gang-rape” and to submit the case diary for review.

During the hearing before Justice Tirthankar Ghosh on Monday, the court emphasized that with one person—civic volunteer Sanjay Roy—already convicted and sentenced for rape and murder, the investigating agency must confirm if more individuals were involved in the crime. Justice Ghosh instructed the CBI to provide a clear statement regarding the nature of the crime and to present the case diary at the next hearing.

State government counsel and Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee argued that further investigation could proceed after the trial process had been completed at the special court in Kolkata. Meanwhile, CBI counsel Rajdeep Majumdar requested additional time for the agency to complete the follow-up investigation. The CBI is now probing whether there was any evidence tampering or manipulation during the initial phase of the investigation conducted by Kolkata Police.

Representing the victim’s parents, counsel Sudipto Moitra urged the court to monitor the next phase of the investigation. He also demanded that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the CBI, led by an officer of additional superintendent rank, take charge of the probe.

Senior advocate Kaushik Gupta, appointed by Legal Aid Services to represent Sanjay Roy, appealed to the court to allow the convicted individual to be heard. However, Justice Ghosh rejected the request, stating that if any ruling affected the convict, his counsel would be given an opportunity for a hearing at a later stage.

The fresh hearing at the Calcutta High Court follows a recent Supreme Court decision permitting parallel proceedings at multiple levels. The victim’s parents had previously approached Justice Ghosh’s bench, but he had refrained from hearing the case, citing its ongoing status before the apex court. However, following the Supreme Court’s approval for simultaneous hearings at the high court, apex court, and special court in Kolkata, Justice Ghosh admitted the case, marking Monday as the first day of the new proceedings.

With IANS inputs