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Year Ender: Bengal’s shocker RG Kar case in 2024 saw massive protests amid shoddy probe claims

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2 years ago

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Kolkata, Dec 31: 2024 was an eventful year for West Bengal for several reasons, but the incident that rocked the state and the country was the ghastly rape and murder of a woman doctor of state-run R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata within the premises in August.

The following sequence of events made the entire investigation process a mere farcical exercise.

The scripted plot started on the morning of August 9 soon after the body of the victim was recovered from the seminar hall within the R.G. Kar premises. As per the victim’s parents, on the same morning, they received subsequent calls from a woman claiming to be an Assistant Superintendent of the hospital making contradictory statements each time.

“First she said that my daughter had become seriously ill. Next, she claimed that my daughter had committed suicide,” claimed the victim’s father to the media persons after the tragedy.

An audio clip of the purported conversation also became viral in the social media then which authenticated the allegations of the victim’s parents.

Kolkata Police started the initial investigation and soon took the prime accused in the case and civic volunteer Sanjay Roy in custody. However, several lapses in the process of initial investigation by the city police started surfacing then. Some of them were lackadaisical in cordoning off the entire crime scene allowing several unwanted individuals crowding there and lapses in the post-mortem process that raised suspicions about the tampering with evidence in the matter.

Following these developments, the civil society flared up in anguish which was followed by a series of protests by people throughout the state. The protests were led by representatives from the medical fraternity in the state.

Slowly, the protest fever gripped other states in the country and subsequently similar protest demonstrations by non-resident Indians settled in different countries abroad also started surfacing.

The ongoing protest demonstrations took a dramatic turn at midnight of August 14 when almost the entire state was on the streets condemning the macabre tragedy as well as demanding the safety of women at the workplace.

A group of miscreants suddenly barged in within the R.G. Kar premises and ransacked portions of the emergency department of the hospital. Later information surfaced that their main target was the floor of the purported “scene of crime” that is the seminar hall where the body of the victim was recovered, clearly hinting that the attack was orchestrated to destroy the evidence. The development also diverted the media attention on that night from the protest or demonstration to the event of ransacking.

This development flared up public protests which were aggravated further by the decision of the junior doctors to go on fast-unto-death protest demanding justice for the victims.

In the meantime, there were two subsequent developments on the legal front. First, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) took charge of the investigation from the city police following an order by a division bench of Calcutta High Court. Secondly, the Supreme Court headed by the then Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud took up the matter for hearing on a suo motu basis.

The initial days of the CBI probe in the matter were highly exciting with information about tampering of evidence during the phase of initial investigation by the city police surfacing one after another.

The excitement reached its peak when CBI arrested the former and controversial principal of R.G. Kar Sandip Ghosh and the former SHO of Tala Police Station Abhijit Mondal on charges of misleading the investigation and tampering with evidence.

All these were going on while the protests were gaining momentum with a group of junior doctors participating in the hunger strike started falling sick one after another. Even the West Bengal government, at that point in time, seemed a bit helpless in the midst of all-around pressure and made desperate attempts to sit at the discussion table with the junior doctors to end the impasse.

However, the series of heartbreaks started soon first with the first charge sheet of CBI identifying the civic volunteer Sanjay Roy as the “sole prime accused” in the crime of rape and murder.

At the same time following a meeting with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the junior doctors withdrew from the hunger strike which to a large extent dampened the general protest mood involving civil society and common people.

The final blow came on December 13, when a special court in Kolkata granted “default bail” to Ghosh and Mondal in the rape and murder as CBI failed to submit a supplementary charge sheet against the duo within 90 days from the date of their arrests.

Following this development, there was an air of frustration and suspicion about the sincerity with which the central investigating agency also was conducting the probe. Suspicions surfaced further following a report from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) that contradicted several points that surfaced during the course of the investigation.

The first contradiction was about the “scene of crime”. While both Kolkata Police and CBI conducted the investigation considering the seminar hall from where the body of the victim was discovered as the scene of the crime, the CFSL report clearly stated there was no evidence of scuffle at the seminar room thus creating doubts on whether that place was actually the scene of crime or not.

Secondly, the CFSL report, while not ruling out the possibility of murder and crime being conducted by one accused, advocated for further research based on different past scientific reports by experts in similar cases can lead to the final conclusion on whether more than one person was involved in the crime.

At the same time, the CFSL report clearly stated that the confidentiality factor of the post-mortem process of the body of the victim was compromised and standard protocols were not followed during that process.

The seventh point mentioned in the CSFL report is, “Observation of the videography of the PM examination revealed that several people were present inside the post-mortem hall and some of them were taking photographs and making videos on their personal mobile phones, which is against the standard and accepted protocol and practice to maintain confidentiality of the case and dignity of the deceased,” the report said.

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Crime

Murder accused absconding since 2020 arrested by Delhi Police after six years

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5 hours ago

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September 26, 2026

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New Delhi, Sep 26: The Delhi Police Crime Branch has arrested the main accused in a 2020 murder case registered at Jahangir Puri Police Station, who had been absconding for nearly six years and frequently changed his places of stay to evade arrest, officials said on Saturday.

The accused, identified as Md. Sheikh Shabbir, 35, was arrested from Kanjhawala on September 25 under Operation Kavach, launched by the Delhi Police to identify and apprehend hardcore and long-absconding criminals involved in heinous offences.

According to the Crime Branch, the team of Inspector Pankaj Thakran of NR-1 was actively working to trace absconding accused involved in murder and dacoity cases. During the operation, Constable Ankush developed specific information regarding Shabbir’s whereabouts and learnt that he was hiding in Kanjhawala Gaon.

The information was subsequently corroborated through field verification and technical surveillance. A raiding team comprising SI Bhagyashri, ASI Anil, ASI Sumit, ASI Ajay and Constable Ankush, led by Inspector Pankaj Thakran, was constituted under the supervision of ACP Ashok Sharma.

On September 25, the team conducted a coordinated raid in the Kanjhawala area and successfully apprehended Shabbir, who had been evading arrest for approximately six years.

The accused was wanted in connection with the murder of Siraj Ali, 35, who was working at his meat shop at Jhuggi No. G-636 in Jahangir Puri on April 29, 2020.

According to the police, an argument broke out between Siraj Ali and Shah Alam, son of Sheikh Jahoor, over the price of meat. The dispute escalated into a physical assault. Shah Alam, along with his associates Md. Sheikh Shabbir, Siraj, Salim, Jahoor and Shakil, allegedly assaulted Siraj Ali with iron rods and wooden sticks.

The victim sustained serious injuries and subsequently succumbed to them.

Following the incident, FIR No. 231/2020 dated April 29, 2020, was registered at Jahangir Puri Police Station under Sections 302, 323 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code.

While the other accused persons were arrested during the investigation, Shabbir managed to evade arrest and remained absconding. The police said he frequently changed his places of residence to avoid detection.

Shabbir, a resident of Jahangir Puri, studied up to Class 12 and was working as a scrap dealer in the Kanjhawala area. Police said he had reportedly fallen into bad company during his early teenage years and was also addicted to alcohol.

He was previously involved in two cases registered at Mangol Puri and K.N. Katju Marg police stations under various sections of the IPC.

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Crime

Patna coaching centre teacher accused of misconduct with student, uproar erupts

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5 hours ago

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September 26, 2026

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Patna, Sep 26: A commotion broke out at a coaching institute in Bihar Patna district after a teacher was accused of inappropriate conduct with a female student, police said on Saturday. The incident occurred in the Dhanrua police station area of Masaurhi, near Pabhedi Mor.

According to local residents, the incident happened on Friday. The teacher-cum-operator of the coaching centre, identified as Anil Kumar, allegedly asked the student to send her photographs on a mobile phone and was subsequently accused of behaving inappropriately with her.

Following the allegations, relatives and acquaintances of the student reportedly reached the coaching institute and confronted the teacher. The situation quickly escalated, leading to a disturbance on the premises. Kumar was allegedly assaulted during the confrontation, with reports claiming he was beaten with slippers.

A video showing the assault has been circulating on social media. However, police have not independently verified the footage and have neither confirmed its authenticity nor the context in which it was recorded.

Officials at the Dhanrua Police Station said that no written complaint has been received from either side in connection with the incident so far. They added that any further action would depend on the filing of a formal complaint, following which the allegations and circumstances surrounding the episode would be investigated on the basis of available evidence.

Police stressed that the allegations against the teacher remain unverified at this stage and that no formal investigation has been initiated in the absence of a complaint. They said police will take action only after a written complaint is lodged.

The incident comes amid growing concern over crimes against women and girls in Bihar, with several such cases reported from different districts in recent days, drawing public scrutiny of law enforcement’s response.

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Crime

Two arrested in Bihar Darbhanga after minor girl alleges sexual assault

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6 hours ago

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September 26, 2026

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Patna, Sep 26: Two youths have been arrested in Bihar’s Darbhanga district after a minor girl alleged that she was sexually assaulted after being offered a motorcycle ride home from an examination centre, police said on Saturday.

The incident reportedly falls under the jurisdiction of Biraul police station of the district.

According to police, the girl had gone to school to appear for an examination on September 23 and was returning home when a youth from her village offered to drop her off on his motorcycle.

As she knew the youth, she agreed to accompany him. Police said the youth allegedly took her to another village instead of her home, where another young man was present.

The two then sexually assaulted her, police said.

After the incident, the girl informed her family, who subsequently took her to Biraul police station and lodged a complaint against the two youths.

Police began investigating the case on the basis of the girl’s statement and complaint. Investigators are examining the circumstances surrounding the incident and collecting other relevant evidence.

Acting on the instructions of Senior Superintendent of Police Jagunath Reddy, SDPO Prabhakar Tiwari conducted a late-night raid, following which both accused were arrested.

Police also seized the motorcycle allegedly used in the incident.

Investigators are examining the sequence of events, including how the girl came to travel on the motorcycle, her reported stay at the maternal grandparents’ house of one of the accused, and her subsequent movement towards Darbhanga railway station.

Police are also examining a possible relationship angle based on the statement of one of the arrested youths. However, the circumstances and allegations remain subject to investigation.

The police are questioning the accused and examining the available evidence to establish the sequence of events and determine the roles of all those involved.

Further legal action will be taken based on the findings of the investigation, police said.

The identity of the minor has not been disclosed in accordance with legal protections for child victims of sexual offences.

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