The police have arrested one person for his suspected role in the death of a female postgraduate trainee doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. The body of a second-year medical student was discovered in the seminar hall of a government-run hospital in Kolkata on Friday under mysterious circumstances. The deceased, a post-graduate trainee (PGT) in the department of chest medicine, was discovered in the hospital's Emergency building's seminar hall, semi-naked and with marks on her body.
According to senior police officer, the arrested man was an outsider with unrestricted access to the hospital's departments. Five people, who were on duty with her on Thursday night, have also been interrogated, police said.
"We have arrested one person, who is an outsider. His activities are quite suspicious and he seems to be directly involved in the crime," the police officer told PTI.
Details of the incident
The deceased's father has alleged wrongdoing and rape. He said, “I am quite sure that my daughter was raped before she was murdered. The injury marks on her body are evident. She was found semi-naked. Efforts are on to hide the truth. I do not understand why they (hospital authorities) are delaying the investigation.”
Meanwhile, a doctor of the hospital, who chose to remain anonymous, said, "She had dinner with her juniors around 2 am. She then went to the seminar room since there is no separate on-call room to take some rest. In the morning, we found her body there.”
PTI has a copy of the first autopsy report. The woman had injury marks on various portions of her body and was bleeding from her privates, according to the four-page report.
"There was bleeding from both her eyes and mouth, injuries over the face and nail. The victim was also bleeding from her private parts. She also has injuries in her belly, left leg… neck, in her right hand, ring finger and… lips," it said.
The autopsy was performed on camera with the presence of the woman's mother and two female witnesses.
According to a top Kolkata Police officer, the incident happened between three and six in the morning.
"Her neck bone was also found broken. It seems that she was first strangulated and then smothered to death. We are waiting for the full report of the autopsy, which will help us identify the culprits," he said.
Student protest & Political turn
PGT physicians at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, meantime, have suspended operations in every department but the emergency room in protest and are calling for the quick apprehension of those responsible.
A number of student associations organised a protest and called for an expeditious investigation into her demise.
Several opposition BJP figures, such as MLA Agnimitra Paul, also paid a visit to the hospital and demanded that a magistrate conduct an impartial inquiry.
(With inputs from PTI)