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Three purported audio recordings of phone calls from August 9, allegedly made by RG Kar Medical College authorities to the parents of the rape-murder victim asking them to report to the hospital, hit the public domain today, Thursday, August 29. This was stated in a report by PTI. Further, this has also sparked a new controversy over the "insensitivity" and "disinformation" of the institute's management in breaking bad news.
The changes in the statements on the status of the victim made by an official in those phone calls have raised questions on whether the hospital was initially trying to cover up the horrendous crime. The phone calls authenticity is not individually verified by PTI.
A female, who identified herself as the assistant superintendent of the hospital, reportedly dialled the parents of the victim from the same number thrice within around 30 minutes asking for their urgent presence at the facility.
"I am calling from RG Kar Hospital. Can you come over immediately?" the caller could be heard telling the victim's father when he picked up his phone the first time around 10.53 am on August 9.
The father responded, "Why? What has happened?" To this, the caller replied, "Your daughter has fallen a little ill. We are admitting her to the hospital. Can you come down quickly?" When the parent insisted on more details, the caller was heard saying, "Those details only doctors can provide. We only managed to find your number and call you."
"Is her condition very serious?" the father's voice was heard asking.
"Yes, she is very serious. Come quickly," was the response from the other end.
The call lasted for a minute and 11 seconds. The second phone call, which lasted for about 46 seconds, arrived some five minutes later.
In addition to this, the father asked about what happened to his daughter and the voice at the other end repeated, "Only doctors can say that. You please come over."
When the father asked her to reveal her identity, the caller said, "I am the assistant superintendent. I am not a doctor. We have brought your daughter to the emergency ward. You please come over and contact us."
"But what could have happened to her? She was on duty," a panic-stricken mother's voice could be heard in the background. "You come over quickly, as soon as you can," was the reply.
The third and last call, which pronounced the death of the victim said, "Yes, please listen… We repeatedly telling you before… your daughter… may have… died by suicide… or, she may have passed away. The police are here. All of us from the hospital are here. We are calling you to ask you to come down quickly," the same voice from the first two calls announced in disjointed sentences.
The final call lasted for 28 seconds.
Besides that, according to an official, the changes in the hospital's statement, from the victim "falling a little ill" to "very critical and admitted in emergency ward" to, "may have died by suicide" have left the investigators to question whether "a carefully planned suicide plot was being hatched by the hospital authorities and police to cover up the crime."
"Especially since the caller admitted in her final call, while misleading the family on the cause of the victim's death, that she was speaking in the presence of police and hospital authorities," the official added.
