RG Kar Case: High Court Directs New Three-Member CBI Investigation Team

The Calcutta High Court on Thursday ordered a fresh investigation into the RG Kar rape-murder case by a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Central Bureau of Investigation.

A division bench comprising Justice Shampa Sarkar and Justice Tirthankar Ghosh passed the order after hearing pleas filed by the victim’s family members, observing that their demand for a fresh probe was justified.

A Joint Director-rank officer of the CBI will head the SIT.

The court also directed the agency to submit a progress report on the next date of hearing scheduled for June 24.

How the Case Began

The body of the victim, a junior doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, was found inside a seminar room on the hospital premises on August 9, 2024.

An SIT of Kolkata Police initially investigated the case and arrested Sanjay Roy, a former civic volunteer attached to the city police.

Later, the CBI took over the investigation following a direction from the Calcutta High Court and identified Roy as the sole accused in the rape and murder case.

A trial court subsequently convicted Roy and sentenced him to life imprisonment.

The CBI later challenged the verdict before the High Court, seeking capital punishment for the convict.

The victim’s family later approached the High Court seeking a fresh investigation, alleging that the CBI had handled the probe in a lackadaisical manner and merely endorsed the findings of Kolkata Police.

A division bench of Justice Rajasekhar Mantha and Justice Rai Chattopadhyay initially heard the matter.

The bench later recused itself. The case then came before the bench of Justice Sarkar and Justice Ghosh.

Thursday marked only the second hearing before the new bench, which subsequently ordered a fresh CBI probe.

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