♌A court in Kolkata granted bail on Friday to former RG Kar Hospital Principal Sandip Ghosh and ex-police officer Abhijit Mondal in connection with the rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor.
⛄Mondal faces allegations of delaying the filing of the first information report (FIR) regarding the assault and the elimination of the on-duty doctor at the hospital on August 9, while Ghosh is accused of tampering with evidence in the case. Both were arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which took over the investigation at the direction of the Calcutta High Court, as reported by news agency Press Trust of India.
ꦆAs a chargesheet was not filed in the case against them within the mandatory 90-day period, the additional chief judicial magistrate (ACJM) at Sealdah Court granted bail to the duo, according to a lawyer representing Ghosh.
ꦏHe informed reporters outside the court that Mondal would be released from judicial custody. However, Ghosh, who is already in judicial remand for another case involving alleged financial irregularities at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, will remain behind bars despite being granted bail in the rape-murder case.
🅰On August 9, 2024, a 31-year-old female postgraduate trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital was raped and murdered in her college building. Her body was discovered in a seminar room on campus. On August 10, 2024, a 33-year-old male civic volunteer with the Kolkata Police was arrested under suspicion of committing the crime.
Three days later, the Calcutta High Court transferred the investigation to the CBI ജand cited a lack of confidence in the Kolkata Police’s probe.
🉐The incident prompted a 42-day strike by junior doctors in West Bengal who demanded that a thorough investigation be carried and security at the hospital be enhanced.
☂The incident sparked widespread debate about the safety of women and doctors in India. It ignited significant outrage and led to nationwide and international protests.
