CBI awaits 3D mapping report to pinpoint RG Kar crime scene

Kolkata: The CBI is awaiting the final report of the 3D laser mapping of the emergency ward building of the R G Kar Medical College and Hospital to ascertain the exact location where the trainee doctor was tortured and killed, a senior CBI officer said.

The officer, speaking on conditions of anonymity, told PTI that the central agency is hoping to demonstrate “deliberate tampering of evidence” once the 3D mapping report is complete.

“The seminar hall is merely a shadow of the actual crime scene and the 3D mapping has provided some confirmation of this. We expect the final report to validate our findings," the officer said.

The findings are likely to be submitted by the CBI in its next hearing on the status report of its investigation to the Supreme Court on September 30, another source in the agency confirmed.

The CBI is probing into the alleged rape and murder of the medic at the RG Kar hospital following a Calcutta High Court order.

A specialised team of the agency conducted the 3D mapping on August 18 using advanced laser scanning technology to capture a comprehensive view of the crime scene.

If the evidence corroborates with other possibilities, a new sketch of the map of the crime scene will be prepared, the officer added.

Besides the 3D mapping report, the CBI would also use circumstantial evidence that it has managed to gather, such as mobile numbers identified through an analysis of mobile phone tower data, including that of the victim, to pinpoint the scene of the crime, he said.

"We have identified several numbers after analysing the mobile phone tower dump," he said.

A mobile phone tower dump is a collection of phone data from a specific area and a time period, especially used by law enforcement agencies to investigate crimes.

The body of the postgraduate trainee doctor was discovered in the second-floor seminar room of the hospital’s chest department on the morning of August 9, sparking large-scale protests from citizens across the board and junior doctors in West Bengal prompting revamps in the Kolkata Police and the state health department top brass.