RG Kar rape-murder case: Calcutta HC questions CBI progress, asks for faster investigation

The Calcutta High Court on Thursday advised the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to accelerate the pace in the fresh investigation it is conducting into the R.G. Kar rape and murder case on the court's order.

A division bench of Justice Shampa Sarkar and Justice Tirthankar Ghosh gave the direction as the CBI submitted a progress report and also sought additional time for completing its fresh investigation.

After examining the progress report, the bench expressed its ire over the progress of the fresh investigation.

It also observed that it would like to see some substantial and positive progress in the fresh investigation exercise during the next hearing in the matter on August 28.

Kolkata Police had initiated the investigation into the ghastly rape & murder of a lady junior doctor of state-run R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata within the hospital premises in August 2024.

They arrested the sole accused, civic volunteer Sanjay Roy, who was later convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. Later, the investigation of the case was handed over to the CBI, but its previous probe team was accused of signing on the dotted lines on the investigation carried out by the Kolkata Police.

The victim's family was dissatisfied with the investigation by the CBI and approached the Calcutta High Court, which ordered a fresh probe by the central agency.

On Thursday, the division bench expressed unhappiness over the progress of the fresh investigation by the new CBI team and observed that this was getting influenced by the old investigation carried out by the previous probe team of the agency.

It noted that while it had been repeatedly asking the new probe team of the CBI to reexamine all the points related to the crime of rape & murder, starting from the reported scene of crime at a seminar hall within R.G. Kar premises to the crematorium where her last rites were held hurriedly, nothing much had been done to follow the court’s advice on these lines.

"Forget the previous investigation. Put that earlier investigation aside and look at the matter in a new light. Don't conduct a new investigation influenced by the previous investigation,” Justice Sarkar observed.

Recently, acting on concerns raised by the victim's parents, the CBI replaced its earlier investigating officer, Seema Pahuja, with Sandipani Garg. The victim's family had alleged lapses in the earlier probe.

The body of the young doctor was discovered inside a seminar hall on the hospital campus on August 9, 2024. Investigators concluded that she had been raped and murdered the previous night while on duty. The incident triggered widespread protests across West Bengal and other parts of the country, sparking national outrage and demands for justice.

The Calcutta High Court's directive for a fresh investigation and the induction of a new probe team have once again brought national attention to one of the most high-profile crimes involving a medical professional in recent years.

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