The rape-murder incident at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata has outraged the nation and stirred massive protests all over. However, several baseless rumours have also been circulating and a few have gone viral. The Kolkata Police has started sending notices to people spreading such misinformation online. Here are a few key clarifications gathered from reports on the case:
Cops did not inform the victim’s family that she had died by suicide. The assistant superintendent at the hospital did so when they called to inform them about the incident.
A viral post claimed that the accused Sanjoy Roy is from Bihar. However, the Kolkata Police clarified to Boom that he was, in fact, born and brought up in Kolkata.
Several posts claim the crime scene at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital has been vandalised. MP Mohua Moitra clarified in a video that the crime scene has been sealed off by the police and remains untouched.
Media reports mentioned that 150 grams of semen was found in the victim. However, that is false again. Moitra clarified that the autopsy mentioned the weight of the inner and outer genitalia, which was around 150 grams. Semen is measured in ml; 150 gm semen would mean the involvement of 100 people. It is also worth noting that the post-mortem was videographed in the presence of a judicial magistrate and three doctors as witnesses and family members of the victim.
No bone of the victim was broken.
Several posts shared online also claimed that the victim’s car was vandalised by people at the hospital before this incident but it was clarified by the driver that no such thing happened.
Rumours of police and administration trying to shield TMC leader Soumen Mahapatra’s son, Subhadip Singh Mahapatra, are also false. Soumen Mahapatra’s son is Bodhisattwa Mahapatra who is currently the Block Medical Officer of Health (BMOH) in Panskura, Midnapore East. Additionally, Subhadip Singh Mahapatra, the intern who is being blamed is the son of a school teacher in Bankura. As per reports, Subhadip’s father has also lodged an FIR against the misinformation that is being spread against his son along with his photo.
Kolkata police also clarified that they did not cremate her body, the family of the victim did.
The Kolkata Police also addressed the lodging of an unnatural death case. Vineet Goyal explained that it was not an attempt to hush up the matter but an unnatural death case is often lodged as a matter of procedure. Once a formal complaint is lodged and the autopsy is received, the unnatural death cases can be turned into a murder investigation.