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On the morning of today, Friday, August 9, the body of a female postgraduate trainee (PGT) doctor was discovered at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College. More shockingly, the deceased was found in a semi-nude state with visible injuries and marks on her body.
The victim, identified as Moumita Debnath (31), was discovered on Friday morning inside a seminar hall on the college campus.
The incident has sent shockwaves through the medical community, prompting many to call for an investigation by a high-level committee.
Prof Dr Manas Gumta, former General Secretary of the Association of Health Service Doctors, told EdexLive, “This incident is unprecedented in medical colleges across India and demands a thorough investigation. Given its gravity, it is imperative that a high-level team be appointed to handle the case. Or ideally, a judicial inquiry should be carried out. From the start, we have observed that the police are trying to suppress the case. They are trying to pass it off as suicide, which is absolutely unacceptable. We have demanded a forensic inquiry and a post mortem by an expert team from outside of college.”
Dr Gumta further added that the principal of the medical college should be removed from his position and it should be ensured that no local authorities are part of the investigation.
Given the condition in which the body was found, there are suspicions that the female doctor may have been raped prior to her murder. However, the cause of death is yet to be identified.
Meanwhile, the resident doctors of RG KAR Medical College have also demanded a postmortem under the supervision of a judicial magistrate in the presence of senior autopsy surgeons.
In a letter issued today, Friday 9, the doctors wrote, “Post mortem should be done under supervision of a body formed , composed of multiple senior autopsy surgeons, female faculty from the forensic department and faculty members from other institute.”
The Indian Medical Association - Junior Doctors’ Network (IMA-JDN) has also addressed a letter to Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Kumar Goyal, echoing these demands.
Many doctors and health activists took to the social media platform X to express their grief and concern over the incident.
Health activist and National Council coordinator, IMA-JDN Dr Dhruv Chauhan, wrote, “It gives me chills and horror while writing for what happened inside RG Kar Medical college ,West Bengal which can hang the entire administration and State in shame… The doctors in this country are not even safe inside their own college forget about outside .”
