A 31-year-old postgraduate trainee doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, who was on the night shift on Thursday, was found dead on Friday morning in a seminar hall in the building housing the Emergency department.

Her parents have lodged a complaint of rape and murder with Tala police station. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee called the bereaved family and assured them of a fair probe, the family said.

The body underwent a judicial inquest in the evening. The preliminary findings suggest the injuries were homicidal, police said.

“A murder case has been started. Depending on the findings and the post-mortem report, sections may be added as required,” said a senior officer of Kolkata Police.

Officers said blood clots were found in the doctor’s mouth and nose.

A section of junior doctors started a ceasework on Friday afternoon demanding that those involved in the alleged murder be arrested within 48 hours. They also alleged lack of security for women on night shifts at the hospital and basic facilities.

Kolkata Police commissioner Vineet Goyal, who went to the hospital soon after the death was reported in the morning, told Metro on Friday night that a special investigation team has been formed.

The woman’s father, who saw her body in the morning, said he saw blood dripping from the left side of her face and her glasses broken. He said that when he lifted a
portion of the cloth with which his daughter was covered, he could not see her lower apparel.

The family alleged that the hospital had tried to suppress the truth and initially told them that their daughter had committed suicide.

“Our daughter last spoke to her mother at 11.15pm on Thursday. Her mother had called to enquire whether she had dinner. Our daughter said she had brought dinner and would eat it later. She told her mother to have her dinner and go to sleep. Her last words to her mother were ‘Aamay round-e jete hobe (I have to be on the ward round),’” the young doctor’s father told this newspaper.

Around 10.53am on Friday, the family received a call.

“I was told to rush to the hospital as my daughter had taken ill. We got very tense and tried to call back. On the third attempt, the line got through. This time I was told that she was dead. She had committed suicide, I was told,” said the father.

The woman’s mother said her daughter had been sexually assaulted and killed. “She had almost no clothes on her,” she broke down.

The mother said the chief minister had called the family and told them that she would visit their home.

“The chief minister called. She said she would visit our house. She promised to
ensure a thorough investigation into the death,” the mother said.

Later in the evening, the family went to Tala police station to lodge a complaint of rape and murder.

Junior doctors held on to the body for several hours demanding a “fair probe”. They complained that there were inadequate CCTV cameras and many of them were non-functional. They also complained of foul play.

“We suspect the hospital authorities are trying to suppress the truth and make it look like a suicide. But that is not the case. Anyone who has seen the body knows she was raped and murdered,” said a junior doctor at the hospital.

Reacting to the day’s developments inside a government hospital and to the allegations of lack of security for the doctors, state health secretary Narayan Swaroop Nigam said: “A proper police investigation has started. We want to see what comes out of it. Basic facilities have improved and we will keep improving them. This is a continuous process.”

A junior doctor who knew the victim’s schedule said she was on night duty on Thursday. “She had dinner with two other doctors junior to her. Then, around 2am, she went to the Seminar Hall to rest. In the morning, one of the other two doctors went to call her and spotted her lifeless body,” said the junior doctor.

Forensic officials who inspected the body said it was lying on its back with its face towards the ceiling. “There were some injury marks. We did not remove the cover which was on the body, so I cannot comment on her clothes,” said the forensic expert who saw the body.