CBI wants to bring out ‘absolute truth’ about RG Kar incident: SC

New Delhi, September 17 (IANS): The Supreme Court on Tuesday said the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is probing the gruesome rape and murder of a junior doctor at the government-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata last month, wants to bring out the “absolute truth” and “further truth”.

After going through the latest status report of the CBI, a three-judge bench headed by CJI DY Chandrachud said, “We have gone through the status report of the CBI. Disclosure of the activities of the CBI today would jeopardise the course of the investigation. The further investigation of the CBI is aimed at bringing out the absolute truth and more truths. You all know that apart from the Director, SHO himself has also been arrested. He is in the custody of the CBI and important information will come to light during the course of the investigation.”

The bench, also comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, said the CBI had responded to questions raised during the last hearing, including whether the challan was filed in statutory form for the post-mortem of the victim’s body and what other documents were filed along with the post-mortem form.

“Please be assured that the CBI, in addition to carrying out its own independent functions, has also responded to the issues raised during the last hearing,” it said.

The Supreme Court stressed that the CBI must be given sufficient time and that any attempt to complete the investigation within a stipulated time limit would “frustrate” the purpose of the CBI investigation.

“We all have an interest in ensuring a proper investigation to find out the ultimate truth. This will be conducted by the CBI,” the court headed by the CJI said.

The CBI on Saturday arrested Abhijit Mondal, former in-charge of Tala police station under whose jurisdiction RG Kar Medical College & Hospital comes, in connection with the rape and murder of a junior doctor on the government hospital premises. Mondal was in-charge of the police station when the junior doctor’s body was recovered from the seminar room on the hospital premises on the morning of August 9.

Sandip Ghosh, the former director of RG Kar Hospital, who was earlier arrested by the CBI for financial irregularities at the institution and is currently in judicial custody, was also listed as “arrested” in connection with the rape and murder case.

In an earlier hearing, the Supreme Court asked the CBI to file a fresh status report by September 17 and took note of the status report filed by the central agency as per its previous order.

“We have now seen the further course of the ongoing investigation. We do not want to comment on this in the public hearing. We will give you a week to tell us what further clues have emerged in the course of the investigation,” it said.

The Supreme Court took cognizance of the case of rape and murder of a junior doctor in a Kolkata hospital on its own initiative, describing the incident as “horrific”. It raises the “systemic issue of safety of doctors across the country”.

“We are deeply concerned about the lack of safe working conditions for young doctors across the country, particularly in public hospitals,” it said.

The Supreme Court ordered the formation of a National Task Force (NTF) to suggest measures for the safety of medical personnel across the country, noting that the safety of doctors was the “supreme national concern”.

She also called on the NTF, set up by the Government on her behalf, to listen to various medical associations while formulating effective recommendations regarding the safety, working conditions and well-being of doctors and healthcare professionals.