On the second anniversary of the RG Kar doctor’s rape-murder, West Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari announced a fresh probe under the Special Commission Act, following a request from the victim’s mother. A separate inquiry into alleged cremation lapses was also ordered. Doctors observed silence, while junior doctors held a clinic and memorial march seeking justice.
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Sunday announced a fresh probe into the 2024 rape and murder of an on-duty doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, a case that had sparked widespread outrage across the country.
Adhikari said the government decided to order the fresh investigation following a request from the doctor’s mother, Ratna Debnath, who is now a BJP MLA.
“Ratna Debnath had written to me, requesting a fresh investigation. After extensive discussions with the chief secretary and a team of experts, I am announcing a fresh investigation under the Special Commission Act, 1952,” he said.
Adhikari alleged that the police had failed to perform their duty in the case.
He also ordered a separate investigation into alleged lapses in the victim’s cremation and directed immediate action against those found responsible.
Two-Minute Silence Observed At Government Hospitals
A two-minute silence was observed at government hospitals across West Bengal on Sunday, the second anniversary of the doctor’s death.
The victim’s mother planted and watered a sapling at a memorial meeting for the post-graduate trainee.
Doctors, nurses and other officials at government hospitals observed the silence in her memory. Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Sharadwat Mukherjee and senior officials also observed a two-minute silence at Swasthya Bhavan, the department’s headquarters in Salt Lake.
At RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in north Kolkata, paramilitary personnel guarding the facility joined doctors, nurses and other staff in observing the silence.