“Our daughter wanted to serve the society and save the lives of others. And look what happened to her.”
Said a heartbroken and grief-stricken mother of the
31-year-old trainee doctor from Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, whose body was found on the third floor of the emergency building at the state-run hospital after she was raped and murdered on Thursday night.
The police, on Saturday, arrested one person for his alleged involvement in the brutal crime and has been booked under sections 64 (rape) and 103/1 (murder) of the Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS).
But what do we know about the accused? How was he arrested? And what’s the fallout of this incident? Here’s everything we know so far about the case.
What we know of the accused, Sanjay Roy
On Saturday (August 10), the cops arrested one suspect following an interrogation through the late hours of Friday (August 9). The accused has been identified as Sanjay Roy, who was a civic volunteer. According to a News18 report, though they are officially called civic volunteers, many refer to them as civic police, which was originally created in West Bengal to aid the police and also a part of a powerful police welfare board.
It is reported that Roy joined the Kolkata Police’s Disaster Management Group as a civic volunteer in 2019 and using the “right channels” shifted to Kolkata Police’s Welfare Cell.
A Times of India report further states that he had been assigned to the police outpost at RG Kar Hospital on several occasions, granting him easy access to all hospital departments.
According to Roy’s neighbours, he was married four times, with three of his previous wives leaving him because of “misconduct”. His fourth wife died of cancer last year, reported India Today. His neighbours added that Roy used to often return home late at night in an inebriated state.
One of his wives’ mothers reportedly told India Today that Roy was violent towards women. “After he married my daughter by hiding his previous marriage, we came to know several things against Sanjay. We even filed a police complaint against him for beating and torturing my daughter.”
What led to Roy’s arrest
As per police officials, the incident took place during the hours of Thursday night and Friday morning. The trainee doctor along with four colleagues, had dinner in the seminar room of RG Kar Hospital while watching Neeraj Chopra win silver at the Paris Olympics. Three of the colleagues left, while the deceased doctor remained in the seminar room to rest.
CCTV footage of the hospital premises showed that Roy entered the building around 4 am on Friday, wearing a bluetooth device around his neck. When he left the building 40 minutes later, the Bluetooth device was no longer visible. Investigations showed that he had left the device near the scene of the crime, which might act as the primary piece of evidence against him.
Following his arrest, the cops also found that Roy had consumed alcohol before the crime took place, as per an India Today report. Sources close to the investigation revealed that Roy had gone behind the hospital around 11 pm and drank alcohol, adding that he used to watch porn while drinking there.
“During the examination, police found several violent pornographic videos on Sanjay Roy’s mobile phone. His mobile was almost full of violent porn videos which indicate that either he was a mentally ill person or a pervert person,” sources were quoted as telling India Today.
What cops have to say about Roy
Investigating the matter, the cops have also revealed that Roy allegedly returned to his place and went to sleep before washing his clothes the next morning to destroy evidence. However, the police found blood on the shoe of the accused, which could also serve as crucial evidence.
City Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal was later quoted as saying: “After committing the crime, the accused went back to the place where he was staying and slept till late on Friday morning. After waking up, he washed the clothes he was wearing during the crime to destroy evidence. His shoes, with blood stains on them, were found during a search.”
The police have added that it seems that the crime committed on the premises of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital was “spontaneous”, meaning that it was not pre-planned.
What the autopsy report reveals
The post-mortem report confirmed that the 31-year-old trainee doctor had been sexually assaulted. An autopsy has also revealed the extent of the brutality of the crime. The report reveals that the trainee doctor’s body had borne multiple injury marks suggesting violent assault.
“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,” the report said. It also ruled out suicide.
A senior police official also told news agency PTI that the woman was murdered following sexual assault. “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,” he added.
The victim’s family is shell-shocked over the rape-murder, with her mother being quoted as telling The Quint: “We spoke to her around 11 pm for the last time before she became a victim of this heinous crime. We were planning for her marriage but this incident has shattered us.”
What next
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has expressed her solidarity with the family of the trainee doctor, who was sexually assaulted and murdered. She has vowed to seek the death penalty for the perpetrator and added that she would welcome a CBI probe if the family isn’t happy with the police investigation.
Speaking to the ABP Ananda news channel, the CM said, “I have ordered the police to take the case to a fast-track court and seek a death penalty against the culprit. If the family is not satisfied with the investigation conducted by the police, they are welcome to approach CBI, we have no problem.”
The rape-murder of the 31-year-old has also shocked medical staff at hospitals all across the state as well as across the country. Junior doctors and students at various state-run hospitals, including RG Kar Medical College, National Medical College, and Medical College, Kolkata, held protest sit-ins and processions.
Expressing their solidarity with their Kolkata counterparts, major government hospitals across Delhi have called for an indefinite halt on all elective services on Monday (August 12). Several government hospitals in the Capital released official statements on Sunday announcing the shutdown of outpatient departments (OPDs), operation theatres (OTs), and ward duties starting Monday morning.
The move comes after the Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association (FORDA) said that the safety of doctors must be prioritised to allow them to continue their crucial work without fear. “We can no longer stand by while our safety is compromised. The recent horrific rape and murder of a fellow doctor on hospital premises is the final straw,” said FORDA president Dr Aviral Mathur.
The crime has also sparked a political furore in the state, with the BJP raising questions about the safety and security of women and the gruesome manner in which the young doctor was raped and murdered inside the hospital. Leader of Opposition in the Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikary, Saturday urged the parents of the deceased doctor to move the High Court and seek a CBI probe.
The police, also on Saturday, blocked a delegation led by Bengal BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar from visiting the doctor’s family near Kolkata.
With inputs from agencies
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