A special court in Kolkata on Wednesday denied bail to former RG Kar principal Dr Sandip Ghosh and suspended police officer Abhijit Mondal – the two accused in connection with the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at the medical facility. The court observed the charges against the two accused are such that during trial, they might be considered “rarest of rare” and this can lead to “capital punishment”.
“On the other hand the nature and gravity of the accusation is grave and if proved there might be a capital punishment, which is only given in the rarest of rare case and in that situation this Court is of the opinion that, it would be injustice flouting the principle of equity, to release the accused on bail,” it said in its order.
The court said the “social status” of the accused — one being a doctor and the other a cop — cannot be overlooked. “…so the position of the accused regarding the social status is not at all a matter to overlook,” it said. It also rejected the plea of the accused to have in-camera proceedings while allowing a narco-analysis test on them but only with their consent.
Records altered, falsely created in the case: CBI
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) deposed before the court that it suspects records have been altered or falsely created in the case, and these have been sent for forensic examination.
“There might be involvement of Sandip Ghosh and Tala thana (police station) officer in charge (Abhijit Mondal) in this case,” it told the court, adding that CCTV footage from the police station has produced additional evidence that Mondal can be confronted with.
The CBI, which interrogated Mondal and Ghosh in its custody, produced the accused after the completion of their remand. The special court has sent them to judicial custody till September 30.
Mondal was arrested on September 14 while Ghosh, who was already in judicial custody in a separate corruption case, was taken into custody on September 15 after the orders of the court. The CBI had arrested prime suspect Sanjay Roy on August 10, a day after the victim’s body was found inside a seminar hall, after “his role in the commission of crime had already emerged”.