R G Kar Medical College's ex-principal gave 'deceptive' answers during polygraph, claims CBI
New Delhi (PTI): R G Kar Medical College's former principal Sandip Ghosh was found to be "deceptive" while answering important questions on the rape and murder of a trainee woman postgraduate doctor during his polygraph test and layered voice analysis, officials said.
The CBI, probing the case, arrested Ghosh on September 2 in connection with financial irregularities at the hospital. The federal probe agency later added charges of evidence tampering against him.
During the investigation, Ghosh was subjected to layered voice analysis and polygraph test.
According to a report from Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL), New Delhi, his version has been found to be "deceptive on certain important issues" relating to this case, officials in the know of the developments said.
Information revealed during the polygraph test may not be used as evidence during the trial but the agency may gather corroborative evidence which could be used in court, they said.
A polygraph test can help in assessing inaccuracies in the statements of suspects and witnesses. By monitoring their psychological responses, heart rate, breathing pattern, sweating and blood pressure, investigators can determine if there are discrepancies in their responses.
The CBI has alleged that Ghosh got information about the rape and murder of the trainee doctor at 9.58 am on August 9 but he did not make the police complaint immediately.
He allegedly made a "vague complaint" at a later stage through the medical superintendent-vice principal even though the victim was declared dead at 12.44 pm, they said.
"He did not try to get an FIR lodged immediately. Rather a new theory of suicide was introduced which is not possible as per external injury visible on the body of the victim that was undressed at the lower part," the CBI has alleged.
The probe agency has alleged that Ghosh got in touch with Tala Police Station's Officer In Charge (OC) Abhijit Mondal at 10.03 am and with an advocate at 1.40 PM while a case of unnatural death was registered at 11.30 pm.
Mondal, who has also been arrested by CBI in connection with the case, received information of the incident at 10.03 am on August 9 but did not reach the scene of the crime immediately, the officials claimed, adding the OC reached the spot after an hour.
The general diary entry 542 mentioned that the body of the PG trainee of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital was found lying in an "unconscious state" in the seminar room of chest medicine, whereas the body was already examined by a doctor who had found the victim dead.
The general diary entry was allegedly made "in conspiracy with hospital authorities and other unknown persons", intentionally mentioning wrong details.
Mondal's failure to register an FIR and protect the scene of crime resulted in the "damage of vital evidence available at the crime scene", officials said, adding he tried to protect the accused Sanjay Roy and others who had unauthorised access to the scene of crime that might have led to tampering of evidence.
Ghosh allegedly directed subordinates to send the body to the morgue hurriedly, they said.
The trainee doctor was allegedly raped and murdered in the seminar hall of R G Kar Medical College and Hospital when she had gone to rest during her shift in the early hours of August 9. Her body with severe injury marks was found in the hall by a doctor who was on rounds.
Sanjay Roy, a police volunteer, was arrested the next day based on CCTV footage in which he was seen entering the seminar hall at 4.03 am on the day of the incident.
On August 13, the Calcutta High Court ordered the transfer of the probe from the Kolkata Police to the CBI, which took over the case on August 14.
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Israel launches first airstrike on Lebanon since ceasefire, accusing Hezbollah of breaching truce
Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.
