The parents of the RG Kar rape-and-murder victim submitted a petition before the Sealdah court on Saturday demanding “highest punishment” for the accused and sought “further investigation” to punish others who may be involved in the crime.

The closing arguments by the defence lawyers of the lone accused, Sanjay Roy, were not completed on Saturday and the next hearing, on January 8, has been fixed for it.

On Saturday, the argument was led by defence lawyers Saurav Banerjee, Subroto Giri and Senjuti Chakraborti.

Lawyers representing the slain junior doctor’s family submitted a petition raising questions on the investigation done by the CBI and sought arguments on those points.

Sources said questions were raised on the alleged roles of the then principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Sandip Ghosh, and the then officer-in-charge of Tala police station, Abhijit Mandal, in the “destruction of evidence”.

The victim’s father told Metro he would not say anything about what happened at the trial court on Saturday.

The petition comprising multiple questions on the CBI probe was submitted to the court. Sources said the court did not make any observation and allowed the defence counsel to present their argument. The prosecution had made its argument on Thursday.

The court may announce the verdict once the prosecution and the defence complete their arguments.

Sources said as questions have been raised on the CBI probe, the prosecution representing the central agency would again submit their counter-arguments after the completion of the defence’s arguments.

The final verdict would be announced after the completion of all arguments.

The trial in the case started on November 11, about three months after the crime on August 9, 2024.

Usually, it takes several months if not years to conclude a trial. However, this case was fast-tracked and the hearing was held on consecutive days.

Although the CBI had arrested Ghosh, the then RG Kar principal, and Mandal, the then officer-in-charge of Tala police station, in connection with the rape and murder, both were granted bail after their completion of 90 days in custody as the central agency failed to submit chargesheets against the duo.