ACTING on the BJP’s pre-poll promise of reopening the RG Kar hospital rape-murder case files, West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Friday suspended three senior IPS officers for their alleged mishandling and dereliction of duty during the initial phase of investigation into the crime. Announcing the decision at the state secretariat, Adhikari said disciplinary action had been initiated against former Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal, and ex-Deputy Commissioners Indira Mukherjee and Abhishek Gupta in the wake of a departmental probe initiated against them.

 

The Chief Minister said the officers were allegedly involved in “mishandling” of the case, “offering money to the victim’s parents as a bribe” and holding an “unauthorised press conference” in connection with the crime, which took place on August 9, 2024 at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, where a 31-year-old postgraduate trainee doctor was found raped and murdered. Adhikari clarified that the State Government would stay away from the actual investigation of the crime -- which is being conducted by the CBI and remains pending in court -- and focus on the initial phases of investigation conducted by Kolkata Police before the central agency took over. A civic volunteer of the city police, Sanjoy Roy, was convicted as the main perpetrator of the crime and sentenced to life, although widespread perceptions of a “larger conspiracy” involving influential people and a “state-sponsored cover-up” of the ghastly act continue to dominate the public sphere.

 

The CM said the disciplinary proceedings and departmental inquiry of the suspected officers, to be completed within a stipulated time frame, will be spearheaded by the state home secretary, Sanghamitra Ghosh, under the guidance of chief secretary Manoj Agarwal. “The disciplinary action against the officers is based on an initial fact-finding exercise conducted by the Chief Secretary and Home Secretary,” he said.