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Kolkata rape-murder: CBI gets nod for polygraph test on ex-principal, 4 doctors

Aug 22, 2024 10:41 PM IST

The CBI is probing the August 9 incident in which a 31-year-old trainee doctor was allegedly raped and killed at the hospital premises

Kolkata: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday got permission from a city court to conduct the polygraph test on the former principal and four doctors of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, with whom the victim allegedly had dinner before being found dead the next morning.

All Doctors Association protest against the rape-murder of a Kolkata trainee doctor on Wednesday (HT Photo/Bachchan Kumar)
All Doctors Association protest against the rape-murder of a Kolkata trainee doctor on Wednesday (HT Photo/Bachchan Kumar)

The CBI is probing the August 9 incident in which a 31-year-old trainee doctor was allegedly raped and killed at the hospital premises.

“The CBI moved the Sealdah ACJM court seeking permission to conduct a polygraph test on the former principal, Dr Sandip Ghosh, and four doctors of RG Kar Hospital. They were taken to the court on Thursday. The court has granted permission,” a CBI official told HT. 

Also Read: ‘Whom is he protecting?’: CJI Chandrachud questions Kolkata hospital principal’s transfer, role in FIR

This comes after the Supreme Court, while hearing a suo moto case taken over the incident, directed the Sealdah court on Thursday to pass necessary orders by 5pm on Friday. 

“The request for conducting a polygraph test has been submitted before the ACJM Sealdah. It is stated to be under process. The ACJM Sealdah shall pass orders on the application no later than 5pm on August 23,” a bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, justices JB Pardiwala, and Manoj Misra stated.

To be sure, the result of a polygraph test is not considered a “confession” and is not admissible in the court of law. The tests are done only to assist investigators in their investigation and get leads from the suspect, and the test is not scientifically proven to have a complete success rate.

The top court also questioned the West Bengal government over the “14-hour delay” in filing the First Information Report (FIR)

The federal agency had earlier sought permission to conduct a polygraph test on Sanjay Roy, the prime accused in the case, from the Sealdah court. Roy, a civic volunteer with the Kolkata police, was arrested a day later after the rape and murder took place and was handed over to the CBI.

The agency has already questioned Ghosh for more than 75 hours since Friday. The four doctors were also questioned by the CBI earlier. 

“The 31-year-old trainee doctor had last spoken to her parents around 11:15pm on August 8. She had told her parents that she would soon have dinner and had ordered chicken bharta and roti. The victim and the four doctors had dinner around 12:30pm. They also watched the Olympics for the Neeraj Chopra match. Later she went to sleep at the seminar room around 2:30am on August 9,” said a doctor of RG Kar Hospital.

Also Read: Supreme Court denounces ‘inhuman’ 36-hour shifts for doctors, urges task force to act

Investigations have revealed that the incident took place between 4:00am and 4:30am on August 9, and her body was found in the morning around 9:45am in the chest seminar room on the third floor of the emergency building.

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party held a protest rally in Salt Lake on Thursday. Police personnel were deployed at the Swasthya Bhavan, the headquarters of the state health department. 

A scuffle also broke out between the police and BJP workers in which senior leaders, including Suvendu Adhikari, leader of the opposition in the state legislative assembly, and BJP Rajya Sabha member Samik Bhattacharya, were detained.

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