The RG Kar rape case was one of the reasons for the public sentiment against the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal in the recently concluded assembly elections. On Friday, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announced that three IPS officers have been suspended for “mishandling” of the RG Kar rape case.
Vineet Goyal, the then police commissioner of Kolkata Police, was removed in September 2024, following protests by junior doctors. The others are deputy commissioners Abhishek Gupta and Indira Mukherjee. The chief minister said the decision was taken to ensure that the investigation into the incident is fair and transparent.
Adhikari said that it has come to his notice that police officers, on behalf of the previous state government, wanted to offer money to the victim’s mother, Ratna Debnath, who is now a BJP MLA from Panihati constituency, and that this needs to be investigated.
Adhikari further said that a deputy commissioner of Police held a press conference despite not being the spokesperson of the police or the state government. It is important to find out at whose behest the press briefing was held, and observed that the language used in the press meeting was questionable.
“Phone records, WhatsApp chats, personal too will be retrieved,” the CM said.
Adhikari said he wanted, in writing, as to how the police handled the RG Kar case .
While the investigation is being carried out by the CBI and the matter remains before the court, the current action is focused on alleged lapses by the previous state government and senior police officials.
“We are examining the role of our own people, particularly senior officers within Kolkata Police, including the Commissioner of Police,” Adhikari said.
What the victim’s mother told The Week
Two days after joining the BJP, the victim’s mother, Ratna Debnath, told The Week that leaders from TMC had allegedly offered her family money to remain silent.
Her remarks came at a time when protests had erupted across India and abroad over the rape and murder of her daughter, a trainee doctor, inside a government hospital where she worked.
At the time, Mamata Banerjee also held the Home and Health portfolios.
The incident triggered serious questions over women’s safety in West Bengal under a woman chief minister, along with allegations of an attempted cover-up.
