CISF personnel at R G Kar
Credit: Reuters Photo
The Kolkata Police clarified that the seminar room where the doctor's rape and murder took place at R G Kar hospital has not been tampered with, after a video allegedly showed people crowding the crime scene right after the body was discovered on August 9.
The clip, which surfaced online, purportedly shows Debashish Som, Demonstrator of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology at R G Kar. He is being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for alleged financial irregularities at the government-run institute.
The video also pruportedly shows the personal assistant of former R G Kar principal Sandip Ghish and a police officer from the outpost at the institute present at the scene.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Indira Mukherjee, on Monday, junked claims that evidence had been tampered with at the crime scene. She said none of the 'outsiders' seen in the video were allowed inside the cordoned-off area, except for the parents.
Track live updates from the R G Kar case here
"A restricted number of people were allowed inside the cordon, including investigating officers, forensic team members, on-duty body-shifting personnel, the victim’s parents, photographers and videographers. No outsiders came inside the 40-ft area," The Hindu reported.
She went on to clarify that the dead body had been cordoned off with hospital curtains and no one was allowed within 40 ft.
"The crowd depicted in the video stood outside the cordon in the remaining 11-ft area of the seminar room. Some people were present there, including the family members, and some doctors from R.G. Kar who sat there writing down their demands, which kept on changing from time to time," the publication reported her say.
The video led to a political slugfest with BJP leaders like Sukanta Majumdar and Agnimitra Paul claiming evidence was being destroyed.
Kolkata Municipal Corporation Mayor Firhad Hakim, however, clarified, "I have also seen the video. At that moment a few people entered, and in case of such overwhelming situations, a lot of people tend to gather. But soon after, the seminar room was locked and sealed by the forensics," as per The Hindu.