Daijiworld Media Network - Kolkata
Kolkata, May 15: Senior BJP leader and Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari on Friday announced the suspension of three IPS officers over alleged procedural lapses in the 2024 RG Kar Medical College rape and murder case.
Addressing a press conference at Nabanna, the state secretariat, Adhikari said former Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal, former Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Abhishek Gupta and Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Indira Mukherjee had been suspended.
He alleged that the officers were involved in procedural irregularities, including allegedly attempting to offer a bribe to the victim’s family and conducting press conferences without written authorisation.
Adhikari said departmental proceedings would now be initiated against all three officers.
He also announced the suspension of the superintendent of Presidency Correctional Home after mobile phones and SIM cards were allegedly recovered from inside the jail premises. Two other jail officials were also suspended in connection with the incident.
“There was an overall sense of lawlessness in Bengal and we have begun a crackdown. We have got input that smartphones are being used at Kolkata's Presidency jail. We began a probe and found the allegations true,” Adhikari said.
Sources said the Criminal Investigation Department was likely to take over the investigation to determine how the prohibited items entered the prison despite strict surveillance measures.
Investigators are expected to examine possible security lapses and whether any internal nexus was involved in smuggling mobile phones and SIM cards into the jail.
The RG Kar case dates back to August 9, 2024, when a junior doctor was found dead inside a seminar hall at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
The incident triggered nationwide outrage and large-scale protests by doctors, medical students and civil society groups demanding justice and accountability.
Kolkata Police had arrested Sanjay Roy, a 33-year-old civic volunteer, on charges of rape and murder. The probe was later transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation amid mounting public pressure and allegations of irregularities in the initial investigation.
In January 2025, a trial court sentenced Roy to life imprisonment after convicting him in the case. However, the victim’s family has consistently maintained that he was not the sole accused and alleged that several crucial aspects of the case were not properly investigated.
In April this year, the family approached the Calcutta High Court alleging that both the state police and the CBI had failed to examine multiple important leads.
The family also cited a forensic expert’s opinion suggesting the possible involvement of more than one individual at the crime scene.
The victim’s mother later contested the Bengal Assembly elections from Panihati on a BJP ticket and emerged victorious. Delivering justice in the RG Kar case had been among the BJP’s major election promises during the campaign.