Union Minister L. Murugan strongly condemned the rape and murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata and criticized the West Bengal government for its “failure” to take action.
Speaking to ANI on Monday, Murugan said, “It’s a strongly condemnable incident. The West Bengal Chief Minister should have taken severe action against the accused, but they failed. That’s where the CBI stepped in, filed the case, and started the inquiry.”
The postgraduate trainee doctor was found dead in the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9. The rape and murder of the trainee doctor have sparked widespread outrage and protests across various cities, with calls for justice and punishment for the accused.
Demanding justice, prominent artists from Bengal’s music industry protested against the trainee doctor’s murder on Monday. Several artists, including actor Saheb Chatterjee, radio personality Mir Afsar Ali, and others, participated in the protests to express their outrage.
The Supreme Court has taken suo motu cognizance of the rape and murder case, with a bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud scheduled to hear it on August 20.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has received permission to conduct a polygraph test on the arrested accused, according to CBI sources. On August 18, the CBI team examined and conducted 3D laser mapping in the emergency ward of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata.
The West Bengal government constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Monday to conduct an inquiry into allegations of financial irregularities at RG Kar Hospital during the period between January 2021 and the present.
According to a Home and Hill Affairs Department notification, the SIT will have the liberty to access any relevant documents from government departments and private agencies required for the expeditious completion of the inquiry. It further stated that the SIT is directed to submit its first report to the State Government within a month of its formation.
The SIT will be headed by IG Pranav Kumar and will be assisted by Murshidabad Range DIG Waquar Reza, West Bengal CID DIG Soma Das Mitra, and Kolkata (Central) DC Indira Mukherjee.
