- Former Trinamool MLA Nirmal Ghosh was arrested in Odisha over hurried cremation of raped doctor at RG Kar
- The arrest followed Suvendu Adhikari’s order for a separate probe into cremation issues
- The FIR alleges cremation was rushed to avoid a second autopsy and conceal evidence
A former MLA of the Trinamool Congress, Nirmal Ghosh, was arrested Thursday in Odisha in connection with the alleged hurried cremation of the junior doctor who was raped and murdered at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital two years ago, the police said.
Ghosh, the former MLA of Panihati, was arrested on charges of destruction of evidence, criminal conspiracy, and forcing someone to carry out an act against their will, the police said.
The arrest was made after the victim doctor's father filed a fresh complaint at the Khardaha police station on Monday, alleging that Ghosh was among the three who had forced the "hurried cremation" of his daughter's body. A senior police officer of the Barrackpore Police Commissionerate said the fresh case is separate from the CBI investigation into the rape and murder of the doctor.
"The CBI is probing the rape and murder case at RG Kar hospital, which falls under the jurisdiction of Kolkata Police. The new FIRs lodged at Khardah police station are based on complaints by the family of the deceased that the body was cremated in a hurry without the consent of the family members to hush up evidence," news agency PTI reported quoting an unnamed officer.
The arrest also comes days after Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, while attending a programme to mark the second death anniversary of the doctor, directed the police to register a separate case into the circumstances surrounding the cremation.
The Chief Minister had said there were questions over the cremation, including the alleged waiver of the cremation fee and the absence of signatures of the victim's family members on the relevant documents.
The 31-year-old postgraduate trainee doctor was found dead in a seminar room of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9, 2024.
Investigators subsequently established that she had been raped and murdered the previous night.
According to the police, the body was taken to a crematorium in Panihati and cremated in haste, allegedly overtaking two other bodies waiting in the queue.
Police have also raised questions over the signatures on the cremation consent documents, saying they were allegedly those of neighbours and not the victim's parents or other family members.
The CBI is separately investigating the rape and murder case following the transfer of the probe from the Kolkata Police. One person was convicted in the case, and the matter is now pending in the Calcutta High Court.
