CBI summons RG Kar Hospital staff in rape-murder probe
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)'s new special investigation team probing the R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital rape and murder case has summoned all hospital staff — including doctors — who were on duty in the building where a junior woman doctor was raped and killed on the night of 8 August 2024. The move marks a significant escalation in an investigation that has drawn sharp scrutiny from both the victim's family and the Calcutta High Court.
Key Developments in the Fresh Probe
According to sources, the new CBI team intends to cross-examine every hospital staff member — doctors included — who was present in the same building on the night of the crime. The junior doctor was reportedly raped and murdered inside a seminar room within the hospital premises. Her body was discovered on the morning of 9 August 2024.
This renewed push follows a Calcutta High Court order mandating a fresh investigation, after the victim's family alleged that the earlier probe team had failed to question individuals present in the building — or even on the same floor — when the crime took place.
High Court Pressure and the Fresh Team's Response
A division bench of the Calcutta High Court recently expressed strong displeasure over the pace of the investigation, even under the new team. The bench advised the CBI to effectively start from scratch and resist any influence from the earlier investigation's findings or methodology.
Following the court's rebuke, the new team reportedly intensified its field activity. Among the early steps taken was the seizure of the mobile phone belonging to a woman hospital employee — reportedly the first person to contact the victim's family after the body was found in the seminar room.
Mobile Phone Seizure and Forensic Examination
Sources indicated that the phone was seized on account of allegations by the victim's family that the staff member conveyed contradictory information during successive calls within a brief window of time. The device has since been sent for forensic examination, with investigators analysing call records and other data to resolve critical unanswered questions surrounding the incident.
This is the second major investigative reset in the case, and it comes amid sustained public outrage and sustained judicial oversight. How the new CBI team handles the cross-examinations — and what the forensic analysis of the seized phone reveals — is expected to shape the direction of the case in the weeks ahead.