As the CBI probe into the rape and murder of the trainee doctor at the R G Kar Medical College Hospital in Kolkata, the Seldah Court has appointed Kabita Sarkar, a lawyer with 25 years of experience, to defend the accused Sanjay Roy.
Sarkar, a 52-year-old lawyer with over 25 years of experience, was appointed by the Legal Aid Council System of the state government after no lawyer came forward to defend the accused, a civil volunteer at the hospital.
When asked about representing Roy, Sarkar said she believes in the importance of court trials over pre-trial judgments. "Every individual has the right to a fair trial, including the accused," Sarkar told The Times of India.
She also told local media that it is a job for her. "As a lawyer for Legal Aid, I will continue to fulfil that duty in accordance with the law, as I do in other cases," Sarkar told Anandabazar Online.
On whether she would fight for the accused if she wasn't assigned to do so, Kavitha said: "No. Then I wouldn't have fought.''
While the choice of a woman to represent the accused has raised brows, Sourav Banerjee, head of the Legal Aid Defense Council, said he had to select a counsel after being asked to do so by the court. "We received a request to provide a lawyer. The order came from the court as there was no lawyer to represent the accused. I was in charge of this and I chose Kavita Sarkar. She is the one who is interrogating the accused in Sealdah," Banerjee told AnandBazar Online.
Meanwhile, CBI officials are investigating how the crime happened without hindrance at the hospital's seminar hall as the door's tower bolt was broken. The focus of the investigation is on whether or not someone was stationed outside the hall to ensure the crime went undisturbed, a CBI officer told PTI. The official added that the team was analysing the CCTV footage to confirm it.
Why nobody heard any sound from inside the seminar hall when the victim was being tortured is also under probe. "The tower bolt was broken, which caused the door to malfunction," a CBI officer told PTI, adding that an initial probe revealed that the door had no lock and many, including doctors, interns and junior doctors, were aware of the fact. This prevented the victim from locking the door at night.
The victim entered the hall between 2 AM and 3 AM on August 9. A doctor on duty reported seeing her asleep inside the hall, the officer said.
"Interviews with doctors, interns, and junior doctors revealed that the door's malfunction had been a known issue, which prevented the victim from locking the door that night," he added.
