Ex-TMC MLA held over RG Kar victim's hurried cremation
Former Trinamool Congress MLA Nirmal Ghosh was arrested in Odisha on Thursday, August 13, over his alleged role in the hasty cremation of the doctor who was raped and murdered at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in 2024, police said.
Ghosh, who represented Panihati, faces charges of destroying evidence, criminal conspiracy and compelling a person to act against their will, police said. He is being brought back to West Bengal by road and is expected to be produced before a Barrackpore court in North 24 Parganas district on Friday, August 14.
The arrest followed a fresh complaint the victim's father filed at Khardaha police station on Monday, August 10, accusing Ghosh and two others former Panihati municipality chairman Somnath Dey and family neighbour Sanjib Mukherjee of forcing the cremation through.
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari directed the Barrackpore police commissioner to open a new investigation into the cremation while attending a memorial event for the victim in Panihati on Sunday.
He said the hurried cremation was the one aspect of the case the CBI was not examining, noting that documents showed the body had been moved up from third to first in the crematorium queue.
Adhikari said the parents' signatures were not taken on the relevant paperwork and the mandatory cremation fee was waived, and he directed the Barrackpore commissioner to register a fresh case and act against those responsible. He said his government was committed to securing justice in the case within the limits of its jurisdiction, adding that the victim, referred to by the symbolic name Abhaya, had not been forgotten.
The victim's parents have previously alleged that police failed to act on their complaint that the cremation was rushed under Ghosh's supervision to rule out a second autopsy.
Police said Ghosh, then the local MLA, was seen at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on the evening of August 9, 2024, the day the intern doctor's body was found.
He allegedly met the hospital's then-principal, Sandip Ghosh, who was later arrested, and was seen accompanying the hearse to the crematorium. The victim's father has alleged the accused pressured the family at their home to cremate the body quickly despite their reluctance.
Ghosh's son, Tirthankar, was arrested July 13 in connection with alleged post-poll violence and extortion. Tirthankar Ghosh had contested the Panihati assembly seat this year in his father's place but lost to BJP candidate Ratna Debnath, the victim's mother.
BJP spokesperson Debjit Sarkar said the current government would not allow outside interference in the probe, alleging the previous Mamata Banerjee-led administration had tried to stall the investigation and keep party leaders' names out of the FIRs. He said the law would now take its course.
Dr. Asfakulla Naiya, a leader of the junior doctors' movement that followed the crime, welcomed the fresh arrests but said the medical community still lacked clarity on events during the night of August 8-9, 2024, and suspected the investigation was being delayed.
Fellow movement leader Dr. Aniket Mahato questioned why the CBI had not made such arrests earlier, saying key facts had been apparent from the outset yet were overlooked for more than two years.
The case triggered nationwide protests, including a 42-day strike by junior doctors at state-run hospitals demanding a thorough investigation and better campus security.
Civic volunteer Sanjoy Roy, 33, was convicted of the rape and murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. The victim's family has maintained that a broader conspiracy behind the crime remains unresolved, with other alleged participants still not arrested.
