More than a year after the rape and murder of a young woman doctor at R.G. Kar Medical College in Kolkata, two senior officials accused of tampering with evidence remain in their posts, as the investigation by India’s federal probe agency, the CBI, faces mounting criticism for delays. The hospital’s then principal, Sandeep Ghosh, and Abhijit Mondal, the officer-in-charge of Tala police station at the time of the incident, were both arrested last year on suspicion of destroying evidence and conspiracy. Both are now out on bail, and no supplementary charge sheet has been filed against them in the past 12 months. The CBI’s first charge sheet, filed in October, named only one accused — civic volunteer Sanjay Roy, who remains in jail after being convicted. The absence of Ghosh and Mondal’s names from the document has drawn sharp criticism from the victim’s family and protesting junior doctors, who accuse both the central agency and the state administration of negligence.
Protests have escalated in recent weeks, with the victim’s family announcing a series of public demonstrations and junior doctors joining in. The family alleges the CBI has been “inactive” and is deliberately slowing the probe.
Sources said the CBI recently submitted a status report to the Supreme Court, highlighting lapses in filing complaints and the disappearance of key fingerprint evidence. But critics say no concrete progress has been made. The investigation has also been affected by key personnel changes. Pankaj Kumar Singh, IG of the CBI’s Kolkata Anti-Corruption Branch, who was overseeing the corruption angle in the R.G. Kar case, has been transferred to the Special Crime Branch in Delhi.
Meanwhile, Satyavir Singh, in charge of probing the rape and murder aspect, has been shifted to the Anti-Corruption Branch. Officials say these changes have forced new investigators to familiarise themselves with the complex case from scratch, further slowing the process.
For now, the family and supporters of the victim say they will continue their protests until all those accused are brought to justice.
