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CJI-led SC bench fixes Jan 29 to hear suo moto RG Kar case

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New Delhi, Jan 22: The Supreme Court on Wednesday fixed January 29 for hearing the matter where it has taken suo moto cognisance of the rape and murder of a junior doctor at the state-run R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata in August 2024.

“We will take it up at 2 pm next Wednesday (January 29),” said a bench of CJI Sanjiv Khanna and comprising Justices Sanjay Kumar and KV Viswanathan as it deferred the hearing due to paucity of time.

The CJI Khanna-led Bench asked senior advocate Karuna Nundy, representing the associations of medical professionals, to provide a copy of interlocutory applications filed to the other side.

Meanwhile, the West Bengal government has approached the Calcutta High Court, challenging the verdict of a Kolkata special court awarding life imprisonment to Sanjay Roy, the sole accused and the convict in the rape and murder case of the woman doctor.

As the matter came up for hearing on Wednesday morning before a division bench of Justices Debangshu Basak and Shabbar Rashidi, the CBI challenged the petition filed by the state government and questioned the grounds on which it could make such an appeal.

Deputy Solicitor General, Rajdeep Majumdar, argued that it was only the CBI, which is the investigating agency in the case, and the victim’s parents who could move such a plea at a higher court, and not the state government, which is not a party in the case.

To support his contention, Majumdar referred to a case filed by the CBI against former Bihar Chief Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal Chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, where the state government’s plea was not considered by the Patna High Court.

Whether the West Bengal government’s petition will be admissible or not will be decided by the Calcutta High Court on January 27.

Earlier, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced that the Bengal government would move the Calcutta High Court challenging the quantum of the sentence and the state government would be seeking the death penalty for the convict.

“I am convinced that it is indeed a rarest of rare cases which demands capital punishment. We want to insist upon the death penalty in this most sinister and sensitive case,” the Chief Minister said.

While pronouncing the quantum of the sentence, special court judge Anirban Das said that the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) contention that Roy’s offence in the matter was “the rarest and rare crimes” was not tenable.

Hence, the judge observed that instead of the “death penalty”, Roy, an erstwhile civic volunteer attached to Kolkata Police, be sentenced to “life imprisonment”. Apart from that a fine of Rs 50,000 was also imposed on Roy.

The special court, at the same time, directed the West Bengal government to pay a compensation of Rs 17 lakh to the family of the deceased victim.

It observed that since the victim was raped and murdered at her workplace, which is a state-government entity, the West Bengal government is legally bound to pay compensation to the victim’s family.

In an earlier hearing held in November 2024, the Supreme Court had remarked that it would not pass any direction to transfer the trial of the ghastly rape and murder case outside West Bengal.

A bench, headed by then CJI D.Y. Chandrachud, turned down the oral prayer made by a lawyer seeking transfer of trial outside West Bengal.

“Yes, we have transferred cases (of gender violence) in Manipur. But we are not doing anything like that here,” it had remarked.

The apex court had noted that the trial would commence on November 11 at a special court in Kolkata after charges were framed against the “sole prime accused” in the case, Sanjay Roy.

The process of the framing of charges was completed on November 4, exactly 87 days after the body of the woman junior doctor was discovered at a seminar hall within the state-run R.G. Kar premises on the morning of August 9, 2024.

In October, the CBI filed its first charge sheet against Roy, a civic volunteer with Kolkata Police, in the alleged rape and murder case.

In the charge sheet, the CBI did not rule out the possibilities of a larger conspiracy behind the macabre crime that prompted alleged events of tampering and altering of evidence during the initial phase of the investigation which was carried out by Kolkata Police.

Besides Roy, two others arrested by the CBI officials in the matter are RG Kar Medical College and Hospital’s former Principal, Sandip Ghosh, and the former SHO of Tala Police Station, Abhijit Mondal. RG Kar comes under the jurisdiction of Tala Police Station.

The main charges against Ghosh and Mondal are for misleading the investigation when the Kolkata Police were probing the matter before it was handed over to CBI by the Calcutta High Court.

Both have been accused of tampering with evidence in the case. Taking suo moto cognisance of the rape and murder case of the junior doctor at the state-run R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, the Supreme Court had termed the incident “horrific,” which raises the “systemic issue of safety of doctors across the country”.

“We are deeply concerned about the fact that there is an absence of safe conditions of work for young doctors across the country, particularly, public hospitals,” it had said.

The apex court had ordered the formation of the NTF (National Task Force) to suggest measures for the security of medical professionals across the country, observing that the safety of doctors is the “highest national concern”.

Crime

Navi Mumbai: Gas Agency Owner Booked For Cheating Fruit Trader Of ₹25 Lakh On False BPCL Partnership Promise In Nerul

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Navi Mumbai: A gas agency owner has been booked for allegedly cheating a fruit trader of Rs 25 lakh on the pretext of offering partnership and high returns on investment in Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited-linked business in Nerul. The Nerul police have registered a case against the accused and initiated further investigation.

The accused has been identified as Sunil Rambhau Gunjal (62), a resident of Koparkhairane and owner of Vighnahar Gas Service, while the complainant, Bhalchandra Nalawade (67), is a fruit trader residing in Nerul. The two had known each other for several years through business dealings.

According to the police, in 2020, Gunjal lured Nalawade by claiming that his gas agency was associated with BPCL and offered him a partnership. He allegedly convinced Nalawade to invest a large sum by promising a monthly return of 5 per cent, both verbally and in writing.

Trusting the offer, Nalawade invested Rs 25 lakh. However, despite the passage of time, he neither received the promised returns nor any official documents confirming his partnership. When Nalawade demanded his money back, Gunjal allegedly avoided repayment on various pretexts.

Police said Gunjal later issued four cheques worth Rs 25 lakh to Nalawade, but all were dishonoured. Even after repeated follow-ups, he refused to return the money and allegedly threatened the complainant when pressed for repayment.

“Based on the complaint, a case of cheating and criminal breach of trust has been registered. We are verifying the financial transactions and further legal action will be taken accordingly,” a Nerul police officer said.

Following the complaint, Nerul police registered an FIR against Gunjal under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita including 318(4), 316(2), 352, and 351(2) for cheating, criminal breach of trust, and criminal intimidation. Further investigation is underway.

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Crime

Mumbai Police Detain 450 Bangladeshi Nationals In Crackdown Against Illegal Immigrants Since Jan 1; Over 200 Deported So Far

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Mumbai: The Mumbai Police have detained around 450 Bangladeshi nationals since January 1 as part of an ongoing crackdown on illegal immigration and related activities across the city. Of these, approximately 224 individuals have already been deported, while several others remain in custody or detention centres pending legal clearance.

Among the recent cases, the Versova Police detained 23 individuals allegedly involved in begging at traffic signals and religious sites. Police sources said these individuals were residing in rented accommodations in Malwani, Malad.

The action began on February 5, when an Anti-Trafficking Cell (ATC) team led by Senior Inspector Deepshikha Ware and PSI Sachin Ugle conducted a crackdown near Versova Dargah, detaining 18 individuals. Based on further interrogation, five more were picked up on February 18. In total, Versova police have detained 27 Bangladeshi nationals this year, of whom 26 have been deported.

The drive follows similar action last year, when 1,061 Bangladeshi nationals were detained for residing illegally in Mumbai.

Police station-wise data till March 27 shows that detainees awaiting deportation are spread across multiple jurisdictions. The highest numbers were reported in Kurla (11), Bandra (10), Deonar (7), and Powai (6). Several other police stations, including Amboli, Nagpada, Oshiwara, and Park Site, reported five detainees each, while areas such as Santacruz, Byculla, Trombay and Shivaji Park recorded four each.

Additional cases were reported across localities including Dadar, Wadala, Sakinaka, Colaba, Chembur, Ghatkopar, Govandi, Malwani and Malabar Hill, among others, indicating the widespread nature of the crackdown.

The deportation process has been carried out in phases. On March 27, a total of 51 individuals were deported, including 20 from Mumbai. On March 29, 44 deportations from Mumbai were scheduled, but six were stayed by the Bombay High Court. On April 5, another batch of 50 individuals from Mumbai and five from Navi Mumbai were deported.

However, several deportations have been delayed due to judicial intervention. In one case registered at Amboli police station, three detainees filed a writ petition, leading the High Court to stay their deportation until further hearings. Similarly, the deportation of a woman in the Antop Hill case has been deferred for a month.

In another instance linked to Chunabhatti, deportation has been stayed until the next hearing date. In the Versova case, a sessions court has stayed the sentence, with the next hearing scheduled for May 21, 2026.

Authorities said the drive will continue, with a focus on identifying illegal residents and ensuring due legal process in each case.

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Crime

Mumbai Police Book Jogeshwari Constable Accused Of Using Fake Medical Documents For 49-Day Leave

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Mumbai: The Jogeshwari police have booked a constable for allegedly submitting forged medical documents with fake signatures to obtain leave. The police investigated the matter up to Nashik before registering a case. This is likely one of the first cases against police personnel in Mumbai for allegedly remaining absent from duty using fake medical documents. The police have also booked an unidentified individual in connection with the case. The accused has been identified as Gajendra Rajput.


A police officer of Jogeshwari police station said, “The accused constable was earlier arrested by the Juhu police in an extortion case. We took his custody through the court in connection with the fake medical documents case, arrested him, and produced him before the court. The court granted him bail, and he has since been released.”

According to the FIR, the accused is Gajendra Rajput, who is attached to the Jogeshwari police station. In November and December last year, he informed his seniors that he was suffering from haemorrhoids and sought medical leave. He submitted prescriptions and treatment papers allegedly issued by Tulasi Hospital, a private hospital in Nashik, and availed 49 days of medical leave.

His seniors grew suspicious and initiated an inquiry. The police approached the hospital in Nashik and sought Rajput’s medical records. As there are two hospitals with the name Tulasi Hospital in Nashik, the police verified details with the second hospital. A police personnel from Jogeshwari police station visited the hospital, where it was revealed that Rajput had not undergone any such treatment. Although his name appeared in the hospital records as a patient, he had not received treatment for the claimed period.

Further investigation revealed that Rajput had allegedly created four forged documents. One was a medical certificate dated November 2025 stating that he required 15 days’ rest due to prolapsed haemorrhoids. The second, dated December 2025, recommended bed rest and follow-up treatment. A third document claimed that he was fit to resume duty, while a fourth was a fake discharge card. 
Based on these documents, Rajput allegedly availed 49 days of leave in two phases.

Dr Yogesh Shinde informed the police that he had not signed any of these documents and that his signature had been forged.

Following this, Sandesh Pawar, 29, Marketing Director of Tulasi Hospital, lodged a complaint on behalf of the hospital against Rajput and an unidentified individual.

The police have registered an FIR under Sections 336(3) and 336(4) (forgery), 340 (using forged documents as genuine), and 3(5) (general explanation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita on April 3.

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