In a closed-door hearing on Monday, a Kolkata court framed charges against Sanjay Roy, the primary accused in the August 9 rape and murder of a doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. Earlier, the CBI had named Roy as the only suspect in the rape and murder in its chargesheet.
The Sealdah Civil & Criminal Court informed that Sanjay Roy's trial would begin on November 11 and proceed daily. Reportedly, Roy, who was a civic volunteer with the Kolkata Police at the time of his arrest, pleaded guilty and alleged he was being made a scapegoat.
There had been widespread speculations that the trainee doctor was gang-raped before being murdered. Kolkata Police, which was initially investigating the case and had arrested Roy, was heavily criticised for not making other arrests before the case was handed over to the CBI.
However, the central agency’s chargesheet on October 7 naming Roy as the only suspect and the court’s decision on Monday to press charges against him currently rule out the possibility of involvement of multiple persons in the horrific crime.
The CBI, though, has arrested other individuals linked to different aspects of the case, including Sandip Ghosh, the former principal of RG Kar Medical College, and Abhijit Mondal, the former officer-in-charge of Tala police station which has jurisdiction over the state-run medical institution.
Ghosh and Mondal have been accused of tampering with evidence related to the case. Furthermore, Ghosh has been arrested by the CBI in connection with its investigation into financial irregularities at RG Kar MCH. However, the agency has not yet filed charges against him.
Earlier in the day, a group of women under the banner of "Citizens for Justice" organised a march from Salt Lake’s Karunamoyee to CGO Complex, the CBI’s office in Kolkata. The protesters asserted that others may be involved in the lady doctor's rape and murder and called on the central agency to arrest them and speed up the investigation.