Kolkata doctor murder: Police arrest one, autopsy reveals sexual assault

Kolkata: Police arrested one person for his alleged involvement in the murder of a woman postgraduate trainee doctor at the state-run Kar Medical College and Hospital, a senior officer said on Saturday. The man was an outsider who had free access to the different departments of the hospital, he said.

"We have arrested one person, who is an outsider. His activities are quite suspicious and he seems to be directly involved in the crime," the police officer said.

Police have also questioned two intern doctors the entire Friday night in connection with their ongoing probe into the death of the doctor, he said.

The semi-nude body of a woman postgraduate trainee (PGT) doctor was found inside the seminar hall of the government-run hospital in Kolkata on Friday. The deceased, a second-year student of the chest medicine department, was on duty on Thursday night. The body bore injury marks.

The initial autopsy of the post-graduate trainee doctor indicated that she was murdered after being sexually assaulted, police said. It also ruled out suicide, they said, adding that a case has now been registered at the Tala Police Station.

"This is definitely not a case of suicide; the woman was murdered following sexual assault," a police officer said.

According to the four-page report, there was bleeding from the woman's private parts, with injury marks in other parts of the body. Two lady witnesses and the woman's mother were present during the autopsy, which was conducted on-camera.

"There was bleeding from both her eyes and mouth, injuries over the face and nail. The victim was also bleeding from her private parts. She also has injuries in her belly, left leg… neck, in her right hand, ring finger and… lips," it said.

Another senior officer of Kolkata Police said the crime took place between 3-6 am.

"Her neck bone was also found broken. It seems that she was first strangulated and then smothered to death. We are waiting for the full report of the autopsy, which will help us identify the culprits," he said.

The Kolkata Police has also formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT), including members of the homicide department, among others, to probe the crime.

Earlier in the day, the semi-nude body of the woman, a post-graduate trainee (PGT) doctor, was found inside the seminar hall of the government-run hospital in the metropolis.

The deceased, a second-year student of the chest medicine department, was on duty on Thursday night. Her father has alleged that she was raped and murdered inside the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, and efforts are on to “hide the truth”. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, sources said, telephoned the parents of the woman and assured them of appropriate action against the culprits.

A doctor of the hospital, who did not want to be named, said, "She had dinner with her juniors around 2 am. She then went to the seminar room since there is no separate on-call room to take some rest. In the morning, we found her body there.”

Five people, who were on duty with her on Thursday night, have been interrogated, police said. Health Secretary NS Nigam and Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal visited the hospital and held a meeting with senior officials of the medical establishment. The hospital authorities constituted a three-member panel to probe into the death of the doctor.

Meanwhile, PGT doctors at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital have stopped work in all departments, except the emergency ward, demanding immediate arrest of the culprits. Several student associations also took out a rally, demanding a swift probe into her death.

PTI