Kolkata, Dec 19: Not satisfied with the current course of investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the ghastly rape and murder of a junior doctor of R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata in August this year, the parents of the victim on Thursday approached the Calcutta High Court seeking a court direction for initiating a fresh probe into the matter.

The victim’s parents have claimed that they do not have any faith in the course of the current investigation by the central agency in the matter and hence they want a fresh investigation from the beginning in the matter.

The parents have moved the single-judge Bench of Justice Tirthankar Ghosh with their petition in the matter.

Justice Ghosh has admitted the petition and the matter might come up for hearing next week.

According to the parents, since the trial process in the matter has already started and the statements of the witnesses are being recorded, unless the Calcutta High Court intervenes in the matter right now, there might be possibilities of the probe going in the wrong direction.

Since the time a special court in Kolkata last week granted “default bail” to two individuals accused of tampering with the evidence since the CBI was unable to file a supplementary charge sheet against them within 90 days from the day of their arrest, the victim’s parents as well as the representatives of the state’s medical fraternity had been accusing the CBI of gross incompetence in the matter.

Those two accused persons were the former principal of R.G. Kar Sandip Ghosh and the former SHO of Tala Police Station Abhijit Mondal. Ghosh is still behind bars because of the pending parallel probe by the CBI against him in the case of financial irregularities at R.G. Kar, while Mondal is already out on bail.

The CBI so far has filed only one charge sheet in the case were civic volunteer Sanjay Roy had been identified as the “sole prime accused” in the rape and murder.

Recently, the victim’s parents have also changed their counsel representing them at the Supreme Court of India.

West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front, an umbrella of the body of the junior doctors in the state spearheading the movement on this issue, has already threatened to resume their protests which they withdrew earlier keeping the larger public interest in mind.

New Delhi, Dec 19: A heated confrontation unfolded in Parliament premises on Thursday during a protest by Opposition MPs alleging disrespect towards Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. The incident escalated when BJP MP Pratap Sarangi accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of pushing an MP, causing a chain reaction that led Sarangi to fall and sustain a head injury.

Sarangi claimed, “Rahul Gandhi pushed an MP, and he collided with me. I fell and hit my head, which is bleeding. The push was initiated by Rahul Gandhi.”

Denying claims of deliberately pushing the BJP leader, Rahul Gandhi told reporters, “It might be recorded in the cameras. BJP MPs were stopping us from entering Parliament. They blocked and threatened us. This is our right to protest.”

The protest was held against Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s recent remarks in the Rajya Sabha, which the Opposition claimed insulted Dr Ambedkar. The Opposition demanded HM Shah’s removal from the Cabinet.

Meanwhile, BJP MPs staged a counter-protest, accusing Congress of disrespecting the Constitution and Dr Ambedkar. Led by BJP MP Anurag Thakur, they raised slogans such as “Congress party maafi maango, Ambedkar ka apmaan nahi sahega Hindustan (Congress must apologise, India will not tolerate the insult to Ambedkar).”

Thakur further criticised the Congress, stating, “The Nehru-Gandhi family has repeatedly disrespected Dr. Ambedkar. Despite being the architect of the Constitution, they worked to defeat him in elections and delayed honouring him with the Bharat Ratna, which was finally awarded by a non-Congress government.”

Srinagar, Dec 19: Five terrorists were killed and 2 Army soldiers injured on Thursday in a fierce gunfight in J&K’s Kulgam district.

Officials said that five terrorists were killed and two soldiers injured in a fierce encounter between the joint forces and holed up terrorists in Kadder village of Behibagh area of Kulgam district today.

This is the largest number of terrorists killed in a single operation by the security forces in J&K in 2024.

“Joint forces including 34 Rashtriya Rifles, police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) started a CASO (Cordon & Search Operation) in Kadder village after receiving information about a group of terrorists hiding inside the village.

“As the joint forces closed on the hiding terrorists, the ultras fired triggering an encounter in which five terrorists were killed and two Army soldiers injured.

“The identity of the slain terrorists is being ascertained. The injured soldiers have been evacuated to hospital for treatment. Search operation now continues in the area”, officials said.

Security forces say that the killing of five terrorists in Kulgam is a major success for the joint forces in their relentless pursuit to dismantle the terror ecosystem in J&K.

Security forces have started an aggressive campaign against terrorists, their Over Ground Workers (OGWs) and sympathisers in order to dismantle the terror ecosystem in J&K.

Properties worth multiples of crores belonging to drug smugglers and peddlers have been attached in Kashmir Valley after obtaining requisite orders from the competent authority.

LG Manoj Sinha has been chairing top level security meetings. During these meetings he has given clear orders to the security forces to go all-out against the terror ecosystem.

Union Home Minister, Amit Shah is chairing a top level security review meeting regarding J&K today in Delhi.

Chiefs of Intelligence agencies, police, CAPFs and others connected with the anti-terrorist grid in J&K will attend the meeting.