Amidst the ongoing hunger strike by junior doctors of Kolkata demanding justice for Abhaya, who was raped and murdered in the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, it seems as if the college is now being haunted by ghosts of its past – in the form of a 23-year-old suicide incident that took place at the college.
In 2001, Saumitra Biswas, a fourth-year MBBS student was found dead in his hostel room at RG Kar. Now, Shantanu, his younger brother and sole surviving member of the family, is demanding a re-investigation into his death.
Shantanu alleges that his brother was actually murdered and that his death was passed off as a suicide to shield the victims, who had links with the Students' Federation of India (SFI), the student wing of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) - CPI (M).
“My blood boils when I see the same faces who were implicated for killing my brother taking centre stage in demanding justice,” Shantanu told Times of India.
While Saumitra’s death was initially ruled out as a suicide, a murder probe was initiated based on a First Information Report (FIR) filed by his now-late mother, Sabita Biswas.
Sabita also named two people in the FIR, and levelled charges against two more during media interactions. However, the case was dropped due to a lack of evidence against the accused, as the investigation by the Crime Investigation Department of the Kolkata Police could not corroborate the FIR.
“If justice for RG Kar had been done back then, the 31-year-old postgraduate intern may have been alive today,” Shantanu, currently a bank employee, told Times of India.
To recall, the postgraduate intern, now referred to as Abhaya, was found dead and half naked in a basement at the RG Kar Medical College on August 9. Autopsy reports revealed that the victim was raped and strangulated to death. Sanjay Roy, a civic volunteer of the Kolkata Police, was identified as the accused, and subsequently arrested.
In addition, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Principal Dr Sandeep Ghosh on September 14 for alleged financial irregularities and corruption at the RG Kar medical college and for attempting to cover up the incident.
This incident sparked widespread protests and outrage by doctors and other healthcare professionals in West Bengal and across India, with junior doctors in Kolkata demanding justice for the victim and better working conditions in hospitals. They have been sitting on an indefinite hunger strike since October 5, as talks with the West Bengal government yielded no result.
