CBI gets custody of RG Kar hospital ex-principal, Tala police station OC till Sep 17
Kolkata, Sep 15: A local court here on Sunday sent former principal of RG Kar hospital Sandip Ghosh and Tala police station officer-in-charge Abhijit Mondal to CBI custody till September 17, an officer said.
Both Ghosh and Mondal were produced before a court by the central agency in connection with the rape-murder of a doctor at the state-run hospital.
"We have got their custody for three days till September 17. Now, both will be questioned together. The duo played vital roles in the RG Kar case," the officer told PTI.
The CBI, probing the case, had on Saturday evening arrested Mondal and added charges of evidence tampering against Ghosh, who is currently in judicial custody in a corruption case related to RG Kar hospital.
Mondal also faces accusations of tampering with evidence, delaying registration of the FIR, and other related offences, according to the officer. The RG Kar Medical College and Hospital falls under the jurisdiction of Tala PS.
The police officer was held after he "failed to provide satisfying answers" during questioning by the CBI officers on Saturday.
In the court, the CBI claimed that "there could be a bigger conspiracy" and that both Ghosh and Mondal had played some "vital roles" in this crime.
Both were charged under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for disobeying lawful orders as public servants, tampering with evidence, and criminal conspiracy.
The two were in touch with each other, with Ghosh giving instructions to the police officer on how to proceed with the rape-murder case, the CBI said.
Mondal was informed about the death of the doctor around 10 am on August 9, but the FIR was lodged after 11 pm. The duo tried to "downplay the incident" as well as "shield" the heinous crime, it said in court.
The agency also said police should have treated it as a suo motu case at the outset, since it's a rape-murder case.
The CBI arrested Ghosh on September 2 in connection with financial irregularities at the hospital.
The body of the postgraduate trainee was found in the seminar hall of the state-run hospital on August 9. To date, three persons have been arrested in this connection.
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Airlines got 999 hoax bomb threats till Nov 14 this year; 256 FIRs filed: Govt
New Delhi, Nov 28: Airlines received 999 hoax bomb threats this year till November 14 and as many as 256 FIRs have been filed while guidelines have been issued by aviation security regulator BCAS for objective assessment of threats, the government said on Thursday.
In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said a total of 1,148 hoax bomb threat messages/calls have been received since August 2022 till November 14, 2024 threatening the operations of international and domestic air travel.
While 999 threats were received by airlines during the period from January to November 14, 2024, the count stood at 122 last year and at 27 for the August-December 2022 period.
"256 FIRs have been filed since January 2024 till 14 November 2024, out of which 163 FIRs have been filed during 14 October- 14 November 2024. 12 arrests have been made in view of hoax bomb threat since January 2024 till 14 November 2024," the minister said.
The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) has issued guidelines for objective assessment of threats. The indicative factor has been useful in reducing time taken by the Bomb Threat Assessment Committee (BTAC) during the decision-making process.
"Also, to reduce the overall time taken for convening BTAC to less than 5 minutes, virtual assembly of BTAC through pre-generated video link has been set up. Further, advisories for compulsory 10 per cent of secondary ladder point check-in for all flights, strict monitoring of non-scheduled flight operations, enhanced security measures and surveillance at cargo terminals were issued," Mohol said.
Further, the minister said the government is considering amending the Aircraft (Security) Rules, 2023 to put hoax threat messenger in the no-fly list.
"It is also being considered to amend Suppression of Unlawful Acts against Safety of Civil Aviation for covering Aircraft in flight as well as on ground, airport etc," he added.
