The father of the deceased doctor of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on Tuesday wrote to the Kolkata Police Commissioner alleging that the assault on his wife "by police personnel" during the march to the state secretariat on August 9 was "pre-planned".
The police, however, said they did not have any video or photographic evidence to confirm that she was assaulted on that day by a member of the force, and requested the media to provide one if they have it.
In an email to Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Verma, the father also alleged that he faced "extreme harassment" as he was asked by officers to approach one police station after another, when he tried to lodge an FIR in connection with the assault.
The march was called by the parents to mark one year of the rape and murder of their daughter inside the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, demanding justice for her.
While people from various walks of life responded to the call and joined the march by the thousands, the state's Leader of Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, also participated in the rally along with BJP leaders and MLAs, forgoing party flags.
"The assault on my wife on August 9 was pre-planned. My wife could have died in that. I had to face extreme harassment when I tried to file an FIR through email with the Kolkata Police," the father told PTI when contacted..
The alleged police excesses in Park Street in central Kolkata left the mother of the victim hospitalised with a head injury.
About the alleged harassment he faced while trying to lodge an FIR, the father in his letter to Verma referred to a call made by police officer Biswajit Ghosh of New Market Police Station asking him to approach the Shakespeare PS to lodge his complaint.
"Then I got the first mail from Ayan Bhowmick of Shakespeare Sarani PS advising me to go to Park Street PS. Then, after eight minutes, I got a second email from Mr Bhowmick advising me to go to New Market PS, which had already asked me to go to Shakespeare PS," the father said.
He further wrote to Verma, "It is extremely unfortunate to see this kind of harassment by your police stations. Kindly let us know if you are declining to register the FIR.
The father also said he wanted the police to register a Zero FIR, as it seemed there was a lot of confusion about the jurisdiction of the place of occurrence.
Kolkata Police Joint CP (Headquarters) Meeraj Khalid said on Tuesday that they could not find any video where the mother of the deceased doctor was seen being assaulted by the police.
"We have checked several video footage but could not find any where the mother could be seen being assaulted by the police. We will request the media or anybody to share any video footage where that incident could be seen," Khalid said.
The IPS officer said that they were, however, investigating how the mother sustained the injuries on her forehead, back and hands.
Khalid said that the complaint of the father was formally accepted by the New Market Police Station.
The mother had alleged that she was roughed up by women police personnel.
The alleged assault took place when Kolkata Police baton-charged protesters at the Park Street crossing in the central part of the city to disperse the crowd, which was trying to breach police barricades and move towards Vidyasagar Setu in their bid to reach the secretariat on Saturday.
"The police shoved me and pinned me to the ground. They broke my 'shankha' (traditional conch shell bangle) and I sustained injury on my forehead," the victim's mother alleged.
She claimed that four to five police personnel manhandled her during the a fight between police and protesters.
