New Delhi: The rape and murder of a trainee female doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College & Hospital last August not only shook up West Bengal, it triggered nationwide protests for weeks and months.
Civic volunteer Sanjay Roy, main accused in the case, was sentenced to life imprisonment by a Sealdah sessions court on January 20.
But the victim’s parents were far from happy with the verdict and sentencing, asking for further probe to ascertain the possible role and involvement of some other persons in the brutal crime.
On Monday, the Supreme Court allowed the parents of the junior doctor to pursue their petition for a further probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the incident – the victim’s body was found in a semi-naked state in the hospital on the morning of August 9 — before the Calcutta High Court.
The victims’ parents, through Senior Advocate Karuna Nundy, had sought the intervention of the Supreme Court. But the top court felt it was appropriate for them to approach the jurisdictional high court, where the CBI’s appeal demanding death sentence for Roy, is also pending.
The high court earlier advised the parents to seek clarification from Supreme Court as to whether it could adjudicate the plea for a further probe by the CBI.
The CBI, which was directed by Calcutta High Court to take over the case from Kolkata Police four days after the crime, appealed the Sealdah court’s verdict, demanding death penalty for Roy.
Victim’s family yet to get her death certificate
The RK Kar rape-murder victim’s family claimed recently that they have not yet received the death certificate of their daughter, despite more than seven months having passed after the incident.
The father of the deceased post-graduate trainee alleged that officials of Swasthya Bhavan (West Bengal Health department headquarters), the RG Kar Hospital and Kolkata Municipal Corporation have not been cooperating with them.
“We have not yet got the death certificate of my daughter. We are being harassed by the officials at various departments whenever we go for the certificate. They are telling us that giving the death certificate is against the rules,” PTI quoted the father as saying.
He said it seems neither chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who also happens to be the Health minister, nor Kolkata Mayor and minister Firhad Hakim has any clue about this.