Wednesday, 22 January 2025
Wednesday, 22 January 2025
The judge who Monday sentenced Sanjay Roy to life in prison for the rape and murder of the 31-year-old postgraduate trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College on August 9 last year sternly pulled up the Kolkata Police, naming officers who had committed illegal acts.
Additional Sessions Judge Anirban Das also said the authorities at the state-run medical college hospital tried to cover up the shocking crime on their premises as a suicide and that the father of the victim “ran from pillar to post to get relief and to lodge the complaint”.
And he called the Central Bureau of Investigation probe “perfunctory”.
The judge, however, concluded that: “...the negligence of the IO [investigating officer] or the police administration or the hospital authority as well as the perfunctory investigation can, in no way stand on the way of the prosecution case.”
In another section, he wrote: “I think that the illegal/indifferent/lackadaisical acts on the part of the police authority of Tala PS as well as the administrative wing of R.G Kar Medical College and Hospital will not stand as a stumbling block on the way of trial of this case.”
Kolkata Police committed illegal act
Judge Das castigated the Tala police station officers who initially handled the case and named sub-inspectors (SI) Subarata Chatterjee and Sourav Kumar Jha as committing illegal acts in making general diary (GD) entries.
“...evidence of one SI of police is an eye opener that police stations are treating the cases in a very indifferent manner. It also shocking that the concerned SI did not hesitate to say such illegal acts standing in the witness box,” the judge wrote.
“I did not expect such type of evidence from an officer in the rank of SI of Police. It shows how they have entertained the issue even when, the case became a sensitive one.”
The evidence of SI Chatterjee “specifically shows that he had done an illegal act by making entry in the GD book under GD No. 542 dated 09.08.2024 by mentioning the time as 10.10am though he was not present at the PS at that time,” the judge wrote.
“It was his evidence that he was instructed to do so but he did not mention the names of anyone by whom he was instructed to do such an illegal act. From his evidence it also came out that in the register of UD case, one case number was kept blank and that the same along with the related form was filled up by the PW-24 [SI Chatterjee] after 11.30 pm.
“I do not find any reason why such illegal acts were done by the concerned officer one after another and why he did not raise any voice against the same,” the judge wrote.
“It is very hard to believe that an officer in the rank of SI was unaware about the implication of such illegal acts and before the court he proudly established his illegal acts again.
“Being the court of law, I condemn such acts of SI Subrata Chatterjee.”
Illegal act not just by one officer
Sub-inspector Sourav Kumar Jha, who was on duty at Tala police station at 10am on August 9, 2024, also committed an illegal act, the judge wrote.
“...while he was on duty at Tala PS, he had received a telephone call from RG Kar Police Out Post and he was informed that one doctor of the said hospital had committed suicide and on getting the said news he went to RG Kar Hospital. From his cross-examination it appears that when on receipt of the said phone call he went to the R.G Kar Hospital, he did not make any GD entry but kept a blank entry in the GD book…. the said blank entry was filled by him after 11.00 pm in his own handwriting by mentioning the time as 10.10 am.
“Therefore, it is also very much clear that the said SI Sourav Kumar Jha also done an illegal act and he also… very proudly pronounced it in open court when his evidence was recorded.”
It is very surprising that he “also could not understand the gravity of the information received from the RG Kar Out Post and he also acted in a very casual and illegal manner,” the judge wrote.
“The said conduct of an officer in the rank of SI is very much shocking and painful and I think that the Commissioner of Police, Kolkata should take appropriate action as he will deem fit and proper to prevent the disciplined force from doing any illegal acts which may/shall adversely affect the merit of any case as well as the demand of justice of the sufferer,” the judge wrote.
The ‘curious’ point of Sanjay Roy’s mobile
The judge criticised Inspector Rupali Mukherjee, additional officer-in-charge, women’s grievance cell, the first investigating officer of the case.
The officer, the judge wrote, had taken Sanjay Roy’s mobile and kept it at Tala police station on August 9 night when Roy was detained on suspicion.
“...as the battery had no charge, the said IO took it to Tala PS and placed it for charging and subsequently the same was returned to the accused and on the next morning when the accused had confessed his guilt to police authority, he was arrested and his mobile phone was seized,” the judge wrote.
The lead counsel for Roy claimed his Bluetooth earphone was of a different brand than the one produced as evidence. The defence argued that there was a probability that the officer had paired the headphone with Roy’s mobile to implicate him..
“In my view, this argument would get weight if one suggestive question would be placed to” the officer, the judge wrote..
“Unfortunately, no such question was placed to the said witness and this court did not get the explanation…. For that reason, the defence lost the scope to avail the fruits of this cross-examination,” he added.
Inspector Mukherjee’s action, the judge wrote, “of taking the mobile from the accused on 09.08.2024 and keeping it at Tala PS unattended is very curious one.”
The judge added: “I did not find any reason behind this act of the said officer.”
The judge pointed out: “It is her good luck that the defence did not challenge her by placing some twisted questions but she failed to lead the investigation properly.”
The judge called upon the Kolkata police commissioner to properly train the force,
“…I think that this type of illegal/indifferent acts of the police personnel should be tackled by him in a very strict way so that no one can be escaped and I also think that proper training be given to the officers regarding investigation specially in the cases where it rests upon circumstantial/electronic and scientific evidence,” the judge wrote.
Parents of victim were made to suffer
“The helpless father of the victim ran from pillar to post to get relief and to lodge the complaint,” the judge wrote in his order.
“It appears from the evidence of the father of the victim that they reached RG Kar Hospital at 12.15 pm on 09.08.2024. The evidence of the PW-24 shows that the death certificate was received at Tala PS at 02.00 pm and the death was declared at 12.45 pm.
“It is not clear to me why at that time, the parents of the victim were not allowed/advised to lodge a complaint and why the police authority kept the parents of the victim to wait till 6.00 pm to lodge the complaint,” he wrote..
“It is not understandable to me why the police personnel of Tala PS kept everything behind a curtain and why such type of illegal acts was done by the concerned officer of Tala PS.”
The judge pulled up assistant sub-inspector Anup Dutta as well, for pampering Sanjay Roy.
“It also appears from the evidence that the accused was pampered by the ASI Anup Dutta and he gave him an unbridled power and the accused availed the benefit of the same and started a life which does not go with the lifestyle of any member of a disciplined force,” the judge wrote.
In another portion of the judgement, he clearly stated: “....if the officers of Tala PS would take proper initiative by applying their intellect at the very first time, the matter would not become so complicated.”
He added: “I am sorry to comment that that the officers of Tala PS showed a very indifferent attitude from the very inception.”
CBI probe perfunctory
CBI Additional SP Seema Pahaja, the second investigating officer of the case, “did not make any further specific investigation,” Judge Das wrote.
“She had just placed the evidences under magnifying glass, took steps for scientific analysis of the evidences and placed the evidences so far collected in this case either by the Kolkata Police or the CBI, to prepare a complete chain of events,” he added.
He also supported his decision to not let the lapses in the probe get in the way of prosecuting Roy.
“I am of the view that the negligence of the IO or the police administration or the hospital authority as well as the perfunctory investigation can, in no way stand on the way of the prosecution case,” he ruled.
RG Kar authorities tried to pass it off as suicide
It is clear, the judge wrote, “that a story of commission of suicide of the victim was in the air …
There is no doubt to consider that from the end of any authority, efforts were made to show the death as a suicidal one so that the hospital authority would not face any consequences.
“From the case record it appears that the said “illegal dream” of the authority was not fulfilled as the Junior doctors raised protest and submitted one memorandum to the Principal and at that time, police force started their action but it caused sufficient delay and probably it was the reason for which the parents of the victim were not allowed to see their daughter,” he added.
“Being the court of law, I condemn such attitude of the R.G Kar hospital authority,” the judge wrote in his order..
The grey area
The judge pointed out that the principal and the MSVP of RG Kar Hospital “were very much aware” that the victim was raped and murdered inside the hospital premises on duty.
“It is not clear to me as to why the then Principal or the MSVP did not send any official intimation to the police authority about such unnatural death,” the judge wrote.
“The said act of the administrative head of the concerned hospital creates a shadow of doubt about the fact and it seems that they wanted to suppress anything and that there was dereliction of duty on their part,” he wrote.
“From the investigation so far conducted by the Kolkata Police and the CBI, no such evidence of latches on the part of RG Kar Hospital authority came out,” he added.
The judge also noted that “the then Principal Dr Sandip Ghosh had called an urgent meeting over the incident of death.”.
However, he added: “During investigation the police authority or the CBI did not collect any such report of the investigation committee and as such, no such report could be considered by this court.
“It is fact no such document was placed during trial and as such, there is one grey area and no answer is before us,” the judge wrote.
