The semi-nude body of an on-duty female post-graduate trainee (PGT) doctor was found inside the seminar hall of a government-run hospital in Kolkata on Friday, August 9.
The deceased, a second-year student of the chest medicine department of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, was on duty on Thursday night.
Her father was quoted by PTI as saying, "I am quite sure that my daughter was raped before she was murdered. The injury marks on her body are evident. She was found semi-naked. Efforts are on to hide the truth. I do not understand why they (hospital authorities) are delaying the investigation."
A doctor of the hospital, who did not want to be named, said, "She also had dinner with her juniors at around 2 am. She then went to the seminar room since there is no separate on-call room to take some rest. In the morning, we found her body there."
PGT doctors at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital have stopped working in all departments from Friday, except the Emergency ward, demanding immediate arrest of the culprits.
Several student associations took out a rally demanding a quick probe into the death of the woman PGT.
A number of opposition BJP leaders, including MLA Agnimitra Paul, also visited the hospital and demanded an independent investigation under a magistrate.
Ruling Trinamool Congress leader Dr Santanu Sen told reporters: “We want a fair, transparent and thorough probe into the entire incident.
The Mamata Banerjee administration has always been in favour of safety and security of women, said Sen, former national president of the Indian Medical Association.
A senior member of the Association of Health Service Doctors, Dr Manas Gumta, alleged that there were attempts to "suppress" the matter.
The initial autopsy indicated that the victim was murdered after being sexually assaulted, police said.
It also ruled out suicide, they said, adding that a case has now been registered at the Tala Police Station.
According to the four-page report, there was bleeding from the woman’s private parts, with injury marks in other parts of the body.
"There was bleeding from both her eyes and mouth, injuries over the face and nail. The victim was also bleeding from her private parts. She also has injuries in her belly, left leg… neck, in her right hand, ring finger and… lips," it said.
Two lady witnesses and the woman’s mother were present during the autopsy, which was conducted on-camera.
Another senior officer of Kolkata Police said the crime took place between 3 am and 6 am.
"Her neck bone was also found broken. It seems that she was first strangulated and then smothered to death. We are waiting for the full report of the autopsy, which will help us identify the culprits," he said.
Later, details emerged that the victim's glasses were also shattered and shards of the same had pierced her eyes, as per NDTV.
Police arrested one person, Sanjoy Roy, a 33-year-old civic volunteer, for his alleged involvement in the murder of a woman postgraduate trainee doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, a senior officer said on Saturday.
The man was an outsider who had free access to the different departments of the hospital, he said.
Talking more about the arrested accused, police said that they recovered a torn part of a Bluetooth earphone which led to the culprit.
Other PGTs and female doctors also identified the culprit from CCTV footage grabbed from other parts of the hospital premises, a source in the police department said.
Police officers also claimed that the arrested accused had given different statements during the grilling done.
A Kolkata court on Saturday sent the accused to 14 days of judicial custody. He has been charged under sections 64 (rape) and 103 (murder) of the BNS.
The judge granted the prosecution's request for a 14-day police remand till August 23 for further questioning in connection with the crime.
Sanjoy Roy returned to his place and went to sleep before washing his clothes the next morning to destroy evidence, a police officer probing the case claimed.
Roy was allegedly addicted to pornography and his mobile phone had several such contents, police said on Monday.
During the investigation, it was found that he had a history of physically abusing his wives.
Roy, who is a trained boxer, got close to a few senior police officers over the years, following which he was moved to the Kolkata Police Welfare Board and posted to the police outpost at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital where the incident happened.
"He had access to all departments owing to his proximity with some senior police officers and the hospital authorities. Nobody had the guts to stop his unhindered movements in and around the hospital," an officer said.
"There is ample evidence that the accused was throwing his weight around because of his proximity with senior police officers. This aspect is also under investigation," the officer said.
Such was his influence in the force that he had access to the Kolkata Police's 4th battalion's barracks "where he used to stay".
"In fact, he had gone back to the barrack after committing the crime and slept there," the officer said.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday vowed to seek death penalty for the accused.
Maintaining that protests and processions by junior doctors demanding exemplary punishment for the accused and enhanced security at hospitals were justified, the Chief Minister urged the doctors to also carry on giving healthcare services to patients.
"I endorse the demands by the junior doctors," she told a Bengali news channel.
The Chief Minister, who also oversees the Home and Health portfolios, announced that police camps have been set up at every hospital to prevent further assaults on doctors.
She emphasised that hospital superintendents and principals are responsible for maintaining internal security and assured that any negligence on their part will be investigated.
Banerjee later said that her government would hand over the probe to the CBI if the police are unable to solve the case by Sunday.
The Calcutta High Court reprimanded the Bengal government on Tuesday for reappointing the principal of R G Kar Medical College and Hospital as the head of another premiere medical institute of the city.
"He should sit at home," the court said.
It also pointed out that the principal had indulged in victim blaming, had called the death a case of suicide, and said the first attempt was "to cover up" the whole incident.
It also ordered for the principal's application of leave and the police case diary to be placed before the court.
Later, the Calcutta High Court handed over the probe to CBI, who later filed an FIR.
The CBI team, which comprises medical and forensic experts, visited the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital's seminar hall where the body of the trainee doctor was found on August 9. Later
Meanwhile, the Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association (FORDA) called off its strike over the case after Union health minister JP Nadda accepted their demands.
A delegation of FORDA met with Nadda at his residence. FORDA said the decision to end the strike, was made in the interest of patient welfare.
Meanwhile, in a veiled criticism of Trinamool Congress-led West Bengal government over the handling of the case, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi claimed that the attempt to save the accused instead of providing justice to the victim “raises serious questions”.
He did not name the I.N.D.I.A. partner Trinamool Congress or the state government led by Mamata Banerjee but said the entire country is “shocked by the gruesome incident.”
With PTI inputs
Kolkata Police on August 16 said it has so far arrested 19 people in connection with the vandalism and violence at R G Kar Medical College and Hospital in the metropolis.
Those arrested were remanded to police custody by a city court till August 22, officials said.
The emergency ward, nursing station, medicine store and parts of the outpatient department of the hospital were vandalised by miscreants on Thursday amid midnight protests by women across West Bengal, condemning the alleged rape and murder of a doctor in the hospital's seminar hall on August 9.
Several persons, including some policemen, were injured in the violence.
Meanwhile, the cease work by junior doctors at government healthcare facilities, protesting the rape-murder of the postgraduate trainee, continued on Friday.
The Calcutta High Court on Friday observed that mob violence at the R G Kar Medical College and Hospital was an absolute failure of state machinery in West Bengal.
The court directed the police and the hospital authority to file affidavits on the incident.
A division bench presided by Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam said it was hard to believe that the police intelligence did not have information about the gathering of 7,000 people at the health facility when the state's lawyer told the court that a mob of such number had assembled at the hospital in the early hours of Thursday.
While protesting outside R G Kar hospital, BJP women workers including Rupa Ganguly were reportedly detained on Friday. A stage that was set up at Shyambazar crossing in north Kolkata was dismantled by the police, a party leader said. Several saffron party workers were rounded up and taken to central lock-up in Lalbazar police headquarters. Several BJP leaders like Agnimitra Paul, an MLA, and Rudranil Ghosh were among those who assembled in Shyambazar to take part in the demonstration. Protests by the saffron party workers were also held at Nager Bazar on the northern outskirts of the metropolis.
(With PTI inputs)