The trial concluded in less than two months and in that time, 50 witnesses deposed against the lone accused in the RG Kar rape-and-murder case, Sanjay Roy.
The CBI said it was confident about Saturday’s outcome. Their confidence, more than one officer on the case said, stemmed from what they strung together with a chain of circumstantial, physical, electronic and forensic evidence, all pointing towards one man.
Metro examines some of the evidence the CBI presented before the court.
CCTV footage
Camera outside the Trauma Care Centre of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9, 2024, 3.34.10am to 3.34.34am:
Sanjay Roy, wearing a T-shirt and jeans, is seen in the CCTV camera footage holding a helmet in his left hand with a Bluetooth earphone around his neck. He stops at the main entrance to the Trauma Care Centre building and speaks briefly to security guard Jogendra Shaw.
3.36.04am to 3.36.10am:
Roy is seen waving at Shaw and leaving the building.
Camera outside the male ward of the department of respiratory medicine, 4.03.31am to 4.03.49am:
Roy, with helmet in left hand and a Bluetooth earphone, is seen walking towards the male ward.
4.32.25am to 4.32.30am:
Roy is seen coming from the direction of the ward towards the camera, holding his helmet in his left hand. The Bluetooth earphone, which was earlier around his neck, is missing.
Asked what he was doing there, Roy told investigators he was there to see a patient. No such patient could be located on that floor, a CBI officer said.
It is on this floor that the young doctor was found dead.
Bluetooth earphone
On August 9, Kolkata Police seized a blue and black Bluetooth earphone from under the platform where the doctor’s body was found. After Roy’s arrest, the police seized a
navy blue mobile phone which, the police said, got automatically paired when brought close to the Bluetooth device. The compatibility between the phone and the earplugs proved they belonged to Roy, a CBI officer said.
The finding was vetted by the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) in Calcutta and Chandigarh.
Short hair, long hair
On August 9, several strands of short and long hair were found at the crime scene. The hair samples were separated and sorted depending on which among them had their roots intact, one of the investigators said. The samples were sent for DNA testing. A senior scientist of the rank of assistant director at CFSL, New Town, confirmed before the court that the short hair strands belonged to Roy.
Nail scrapings
On August 10, after the arrest of Roy, he was sent to SSKM Hospital for his medico-legal examination. Among other things, his nail clippings and scrapings were preserved and sent for forensic examinations. The report confirmed that the scrapings found in Roy’s nails were from the body of the slain doctor, a CBI officer said.
Scratches on Roy
On August 10, five scratch marks were found on Roy during the medico-legal examination. Police sources said that when being examined, Roy told the police that the marks were from a fall while rock climbing at Salua in West Midnapore.
During the trial, Roy said while being cross-examined that the marks were from a
fall from a bike, CBI sources said.
The report of the medico-legal examination concluded that the injuries were “blunt force injuries consistent with marks of resistance/struggle by the victim”.
The age of these injuries could be between 24 to 36 hours before the examination — which matched with the time when the doctor was brutalised.
Body fluids
Fluid samples found on the slain doctor’s body — semen and saliva — matched with that of Roy, CBI sources said.
Jeans and slippers
A pair of jeans and slippers seized from the police barracks of the fourth battalion of Kolkata Police in Salt Lake on August 12 were allegedly worn by Roy during the commission of the crime. According to forensic reports, traces of blood on them matched with that of the victim.
Tower location
CBI officers said a senior official of a telecom company whose SIM card was found in the mobile phone of Roy confirmed that according to his phone’s call detail records on the night between August 8 and 9, Roy’s location was at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
Witness statements
CBI officers said the testimony of “experts” gave “weight” to their investigation and largely helped in taking the case to its conclusion.
The experts included an assistant director from CFSL, New Town, who confirmed the short hair to be that of Roy; a professor of forensic medicine and toxicology from RG Kar Medical College and Hospital who was one of the doctors to have conducted the post-
mortem; a professor of forensic medicine and toxicology who confirmed the CCTV footage was genuine; and a professor of forensic medicine, AIIMS New Delhi, who concluded all the major forensic findings of the probe, said CBI sources.