More than a year after the RG Kar rape and murder case, the accused Sanjay Roy's niece was found dead inside a wardrobe at her home on Sunday in Alipore, South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal.
The girl’s body was reportedly found inside the wardrobe, News18 reported on Tuesday.
The girl, who was a sixth-standard student, was immediately rushed to the nearby Seth Sukhlal Karnani Memorial (SSKM) Hospital, where she was declared brought dead.
Her mother had also reportedly died by suicide a few years ago, after which her father remarried his sister-in-law, the report stated quoting sources at Kolkata Police headquarters in Lalbazar.
On Sunday, her stepmother had left the house to buy crackers for Diwali. There was no one at home at the time of the incident.
Neighbours recall disturbance
Neighbours told police that the victim's house often witnessed heated arguments.
They further said that on the day of the incident, when the stepmother returned from the market, she received no response from the girl despite repeatedly calling out to her.
When she broke into the house, the girl was nowhere to be found. Only when she opened the cupboard did she discover the girl's lifeless body. The police were informed immediately, the report stated.
Murder or suicide?
{{/usCountry}}When she broke into the house, the girl was nowhere to be found. Only when she opened the cupboard did she discover the girl's lifeless body. The police were informed immediately, the report stated.
Murder or suicide?
{{/usCountry}}According to the News18 report, although Kolkata Police suspects it to be a case of suicide, the possibility of murder has not been ruled out.
The family is yet to lodge a formal complaint. A case of unnatural death has been registered, and an investigation is underway while more details are awaited.
Sanjay Roy case background
The Supreme Court on October 7 deferred till November its hearing on the suo motu case in the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, which took place in August 2024.
Initially investigated by Kolkata Police, the case was transferred to the CBI on August 13, 2024, after the Calcutta High Court expressed dissatisfaction with the former’s probe, reported news agency PTI.
The top court subsequently assumed oversight of the matter on August 19, 2024.
Roy was chargesheeted by the CBI in October last year.
On January 20, 2025, a Kolkata trial court awarded convict Sanjay Roy “life imprisonment till death” in the case. The heinous crime had triggered nationwide outrage and prolonged protests across West Bengal.