RG Kar rape-murder: CBI continues to quiz ex-principal
Kolkata (PTI): The CBI on Friday summoned former principal of RG Kar Medical College Sandip Ghosh for the 14th consecutive day for questioning in connection with its probe into the alleged rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor in the early hours of August 9.
Ghosh, officials said, has already been quizzed by the agency for over 140 hours.
Besides the gruesome crime, Ghosh is also under the agency’s lens in the financial misconduct case at the hospital in which the sleuths have already registered an FIR against him and other entities.
Agency officials also searched and questioned the former principal at his residence last Sunday.
Ghosh was seen walking inside the CGO Complex in Salt Lake, which houses the agency’s eastern regional headquarters, at around 10.45 am.
On Thursday, multiple CBI teams visited the state-run RG Kar hospital as part of its ongoing investigations.
The first of the three teams from the agency's Nizam Palace office probing the alleged financial irregularities reached the hospital morgue to inquire about its infrastructure, protocols involved in preserving dead bodies and conducting post-mortems, a CBI official said.
The five-member team spoke to hospital doctors and staff, including the head of forensic department and current vice principal, Dr Saptarshi Chatterjee, for further clarifications on the issues.
The probes followed complaints by the hospital's former Deputy Superintendent Akhtar Ali of trafficking of unclaimed bodies, among other allegations of financial misconduct like corruption in disposal of bio-medical waste, nepotism in floating construction tenders and so on, during Ghosh's tenure as principal.
A second CBI team from Nizam Palace simultaneously searched the hospital store building where medical and purchase records are kept, the official said.
Another CBI team on Thursday went to the chest department housed at the third floor of the hospital's emergency building where the victim was on duty that fateful night, inspected the crime scene and spoke to nurses and other hospital staff, it was learnt.
So far, the probe has resulted in only one arrest, that of Kolkata Police civic volunteer Sanjoy Roy, who currently remains in judicial custody.
With 18 days having passed since the CBI took over investigation charges on a Calcutta High Court order, several unanswered questions about the ghastly crime – such as whether multiple people were involved, DNA test results of the fluid found in the victim’s genitals, forensic test reports of tissue samples found underneath the victim’s nails, whether responsibilities have been fixed on the alleged alteration of the crime scene – still continue to dominate the public domain.
Calcutta High Court transferred the twin probe - into the August 9 rape-murder of the medic and allegations of corruption during the tenure of Ghosh - on August 13 and August 23 respectively to CBI.
Ghosh has been questioned by the central agency at its CGO complex office since August 16.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
India describes attack on Fujairah 'unacceptable'
New Delhi (PTI): India on Tuesday described the wounding of three Indians in an attack on the United Arab Emirates' port city of Fujairah as "unacceptable" and pressed for an immediate cessation of hostilities targeting innocent civilians.
New Delhi's reaction came a day after the Indians were injured after a drone attack caused a fire at a major oil industry zone in Fujairah. The UAE had accused Iran of carrying out the strike.
"The attack on Fujairah that resulted in injury to three Indian nationals is unacceptable," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
"We call for immediate cessation of these hostilities and the targeting of civilian infrastructure and innocent civilians," the spokesperson said.
Jaiswal said India continued to stand for dialogue and diplomacy to deal with the situation so that peace and stability could be restored across West Asia.
"We also call for free and unimpeded navigation and commerce through the Strait of Hormuz in keeping with international law. India stands ready to support all efforts for a peaceful resolution of issues," he said.
The attack on Fujairah city came as the ceasefire between the US and Iran came under strain in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of the world's oil and gas pass, remains a major sticking point in the talks. Shipping through the narrow Gulf waterway has been severely disrupted by the conflict, triggering a sharp increase in oil prices and energy shortages in several countries.
The UAE's defence ministry on Monday said its air defence systems engaged 12 ballistic missiles, three cruise missiles and four drones launched from Iran.
The ministry affirmed that it "remains fully prepared and ready to deal with any threats and will firmly confront anything that aims to undermine the security of the country."
