RG Kar: Cal HC says trial court to take call on victim's parents' plea to visit crime scene
Kolkata (PTI): The Calcutta High Court on Thursday left it to the trial court to decide on a plea by the parents of the murdered RG Kar Hospital doctor seeking permission to visit the crime scene.
The parents, through their counsel Phiroze Edulji, requested permission to inspect the site of the occurrence of the crime, except the seminar room, where their daughter’s body was found on August 9, 2024.
Following nationwide outrage and protests in the wake of the on-duty doctor's rape and murder within the premises of the institute, the HC had transferred the case investigation from Kolkata Police to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Justice Tirthankar Ghosh, before whom the plea was moved, said since further investigation is being carried out by the CBI and the ACJM, Sealdah, is in seisin of the issues, no order can be passed without keeping the magistrate informed.
Observing that the petitioner can approach the ACJM court with the prayer, Justice Ghosh directed that the ACJM will dispose of such application within 48 hours of being made before it.
Deputy Solicitor General Rajdeep Majumdar, appearing for the CBI, submitted that since the CRPF is in charge of security at the hospital, such permission is warranted from a court of law.
Senior Advocate Kalyan Banerjee, representing the West Bengal government, objected to the prayer, submitting that if the petitioner intends to seek reinvestigation into the rape-murder of the doctor, the same should be followed with a prayer for setting aside the whole investigation and the consequences thereof from inception.
He stated that the petitioner should make it clear whether they seek further investigation or a fresh probe into the crime.
Former civic volunteer Sanjay Roy has been sentenced to imprisonment till the end of his natural life by the Sealdah sessions court here after finding him guilty of the crime.
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MP boat tragedy: Death toll rises to 10 with recovery of one more body; 3 tourists still missing
Jabalpur (PTI): The body of a child was retrieved on Saturday evening from Bargi Dam in Jabalpur district of Madhya Pradesh, raising the death toll in the cruise boat tragedy that took place two days ago to ten, while search continued for three missing tourists.
The boat, operated by the state tourism department, capsized during a storm on Thursday evening with some of the survivors alleging negligence and safety lapses such as life jackets not being distributed in time.
The body recovered on Saturday evening was possibly that of six-year-old Viraj Soni, said Sub-Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Anjul Ayank Mishra.
"The identity will be confirmed after family members identify the body," he told PTI.
Kamraj, an employee of the Ordnance Factory at Khamaria, his five-year-old son Tamil, and another child Mayuram (5) who had come from southern India were still missing.
Authorities have arranged equipment to search deep waters of the dam and are getting a generator to facilitate diving operations, Mishra added.
Divers and disaster response teams have expanded the search radius to five km, he said.
Of the 41 identified passengers on board the ill-fated vessel, 28 were rescued, police said.
More than 200 rescuers, including around 20 Army divers airlifted from Agra, joined the search operation that resumed at 5 on Saturday morning. The operation, involving the National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force and local divers, was briefly affected at around 9 am due to strong winds, officials said.
Post-mortem examinations of nine deceased persons have been completed, Mishra said.
"Our priority is to search for the missing persons. We will also register a First Information Report in the case soon," he said.
Police said CCTV footage near the boarding point showed 43 people heading towards the boat while the identities of 41 passengers have been confirmed so far.
The state government on Friday ordered a probe into the tragedy and dismissed three crew members. It also banned operation of similar vessels in the state.
