EXCLUSIVE | 51 Kolkata Cops Grilled by CBI in RG Kar Rape-Murder Case: Procedural Lapses to Blame?

As many as 51 officers of Kolkata Police have been examined by the CBI over the past three weeks in connection with the case of the alleged rape and murder of a junior doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, sources in the investigating agencies told News18. Amid rising allegations of evidence tampering and a ‘systematic cover-up,’ this action by the CBI has come as a significant development.

Talking to News 18, a senior investigator of the agency said that 51 officers were called and their statements were recorded. This adds to the series of events unfolding around the case of rape and murder of the young doctor inside the hospital premises.

The central agency is now probing procedural lapses and piecing together critical gaps in the investigation. The number of officers already questioned is at 51 as of September 10, but sources have indicated that the list of officers summoned for statements is likely to expand in the coming days.

Which officers were examined?

The police officers, grilled by the CBI, include the members of the Special Investigating Team (SIT) formed to probe the rape and murder, the officers of the local -Tala – police station and other senior members of Kolkata Police.

Officers, irrespective of their ranks, starting with the sub inspectors attending the scene, the investigating officer (IO), other members in the SIT and also officers having the ranks of Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) have been questioned.

Is evidence tampering real?

In the middle of a consistent clamour over alleged evidence tampering and a claimed cover-up, the CBI has found several glaring procedural lapses. The order to renovate some of the premises near the crime scene, the discrepancies about the time of lodging the GDE and the FIR, the different documents related to autopsy reports, case diary documents, content of the FIR and the record of case diary – all such elements are now under investigation by the central agency, said sources in the CBI.

The central agency is likely to include more details, documents and evidence in connection with the alleged lapses and alleged mishandling of some samples related to the victim and the accused in the next status report that the CBI has been directed to submit during the next hearing, scheduled on September 17.