RG Kar rape-murder: IMA questions cops over non-experts’ presence at crime scene

The Bengal state branch of the IMA, however, said in a statement on Friday that one of the persons, whom the Kolkata police had identified as a finger print expert, was a first-year trainee doctor of another hospital

Kolkata: Amid allegations of evidence being tampered with in the Kolkata rape and murder case at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has raised questions over the identities of two persons who were present inside the cordoned off area at the crime scene.

RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata (File Photo)

This comes a day after the Kolkata police stated that all those who had entered the area cordoned off by the investigators to protect the crime scene were associated with the investigation.

The Bengal state branch of the IMA, however, said in a statement on Friday that one of the persons, whom the Kolkata police had identified as a finger print expert, was a first-year trainee doctor of another hospital.

“...When Dr Avik De became a fingerprint expert? As we all know, he is a 1st year postgraduate trainee of a surgery department of SSKM (Seth Sukhlal Karnani Memorial) Hospital,” the IMA stated.

Indira Mukherjee, deputy commissioner (central division), had said on Friday that only policemen, forensic experts, videographers, and fingerprint experts could be seen in a video, which was making the rounds on social media.

Even though Avik De could not be contacted by HT, his colleagues told media persons that he was not present at the crime scene.

Questions have also been raised over the identity of another person who could be seen wearing a purple-coloured shirt and standing near the cordoned off area in the video.

“We suspect that it was Birupaksha Biswas, who shared close links with Dr Sandip Ghosh, former principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. What was he doing there?” Avik Ghosh, a member of IMA, told the media.

Biswas, however, refuted the allegations, saying that it was not him and effort was on to malign him.

“I was there at RG Medical Hospital on that day, but I was not present in the seminar room or at the scene of crime. These are wild allegations. Just because I was wearing a purple shirt, my name was dragged,” Dr Biswas told the media.

Allegations of evidence being tampered with at the crime scene inside the seminar room of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital have been surfacing since the first day.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is handling the probe, had earlier told the Supreme Court that the crime scene was altered as a result of which they were facing difficulties. The state government, however, had refuted the allegations.

Earlier this week, a video surfaced on social media in which several persons, including doctors, police, and private security guards of the hospital, could be seen gathering inside the seminar hall after the body was found on August 9.

Kolkata police had said that the body was found in one corner of the seminar room measuring 51’x32’ and that the area was cordoned off. Hospital doctors had gathered outside the cordoned off area.

“There is no question of anyone entering that cordoned off area. People, who can be seen gathering in the video, were all outside the cordoned off area,” Mukherjee had told reporters earlier.