Parents of RG Kar hospital victim doing politics by maligning CM: West Bengal minister
Kolkata (PTI): West Bengal minister Firhad Hakim said on Sunday that the parents of the RG Kar hospital victim are doing politics by maligning Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
A day earlier, Trinamool Congress leader Kunal Ghosh alleged that the parents of the R G Kar hospital victim are being "used" by the forces which want to "defame, malign and plot conspiracy against the Mamata Banerjee government".
Joining his Trinamool Congress colleague Ghosh, Hakim said Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has been elected by popular mandate and not by "those who are using the grief-stricken parents as puppets.
Replying to a question by reporters on the sidelines of a Republic Day function in the city, the Municipal Affairs and Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim said, "I share the extreme pain and anguish of the parents. I share their reservations about the way the CBI investigated the case after taking it over from Kolkata Police.
"But when they (the RG Kar victim's parents) target the CM and malign her without any reason, I have to say they are exceeding the brief. They are not supposed to speak on the governance of the CM who came to power by popular mandate and not by the wish of forces who are using the parents as puppets for their agenda," the minister said.
Hakim, who is also the mayor of Kolkata, alleged the parents are doing politics over the issue and playing in the hands of vested interests. "They should not mouth scripted lines like parrots," he said.
The strong reactions by the two ruling party leaders were preceded by comments of the parents of the deceased post-graduate trainee doctor.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee cannot disown the responsibility for the alleged attempt of the police and hospital authorities to destroy evidence of the rape and murder of their daughter, the parents claimed on Friday.
They attempted to shield the “main conspirators” behind the crime, while the CBI failed to bring to book all the perpetrators and overlooked the larger conspiracy aspect, the parents claimed on Friday.
Kunal Ghosh on Saturday said, "Please don't let yourself (parents) be used by any party with a vested interest.
In response to Ghosh's comment, the father of the deceased medic told reporters on Saturday, "We have not been used by any quarter. We have lost everything. We only wish that justice is done to our daughter before our death.
"Yes, we think this CM has utterly failed. We have every right to say whatever we feel like," the father later said at a meeting organised by 'Abhaya manch' a platform demanding justice for the raped-murdered R G Kar medic.
The deceased medic’s mother told a Bengali TV channel on Friday, "Everyone - Kolkata Police, the hospital administration and people's representatives from the TMC - played an active role to hush up the ghastly incident so that truth does not come to light.
The body of the 31-year-old post-graduate trainee was found in a semi-naked state in the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9 last year.
The trial court on January 20 sentenced Sanjay Roy, the lone convict, to life imprisonment till death in the rape-murder case.
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No 'bacterial infection' found in bodies of 4 Mumbai family members who died after eating watermelon
Mumbai (PTI): The initial report submitted by the microbiology department of a Mumbai-based state-run hospital has said no "bacterial infection" was detected in the bodies of four family members, who died after consuming watermelon recently, officials said on Wednesday.
The Dokadia family, residents of Ghari Mohalla on Ismail Kurte Road, had hosted a get-together of relatives on the night of April 25. At around 1 am (on April 26), hours after the guests had left, Abdullah Dokadia (40), his wife Nasreen (35), and daughters Ayesha (16) and Zaineb (13) ate pieces of a watermelon.
They suffered severe bouts of vomiting and diarrhoea in the early hours of April 26 and were rushed to a local hospital before being referred to the government-run J J Hospital where all four died during treatment.
After the incident, Mumbai police, forensic experts and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials visited the house and had collected samples of every food item that constituted the family's last meal, including 'chicken pulav', watermelon, water, and other foodstuffs, and sent them to the Forensic Science Laboratory for analysis.
After the post-mortem of the deceased, their viscera was preserved for chemical analysis.
As the probe is underway, the microbiology department of the state-run J J Hospital has submitted its initial report to the police.
"As per the report, no bacterial infection has been detected so far in the bodies of the victims. No bacteria was found in their blood," the official said.
The exact cause of the death will be known once the forensic science lab submits its report, he said.
"The report will also clarify whether any food items consumed by the family members during the day contained anything poisonous," the official said.
