The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of shielding those responsible for the rape and murder of a doctor at the state-run RG Kar Hospital in Kolkata. The BJP demanded that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conduct a polygraph test on Banerjee.
In response to the police lathi-charge on protesters in Kolkata, the BJP labeled Banerjee a dictator and called for her resignation. The party also insisted on a lie-detector test for Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goel, condemning the police’s use of force against protesters.
“What’s happening in West Bengal is deeply concerning. It’s akin to shredding the Constitution. It’s evident that if there is a ‘doctor’ in the country, it’s Mamata Banerjee,” BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia stated during a press conference in New Delhi.
Bhatia further claimed that the police commissioner had dismissed the rape and murder as a suicide and demanded his resignation and investigation.
“Truth must prevail. The CBI, which is investigating the case, should conduct polygraph tests on Mamata Banerjee and the police commissioner to uncover the truth,” he added.
Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, accused the police of “brutal repression” against participants in the ‘Nabanna Abhijan’ rally. He warned of statewide disruptions if the state’s administration did not halt its “brutalities.”
“Police have used water cannons on peaceful protesters at Santragachi, tear gas on students at Howrah Bridge, and lathi-charged them at College Street. These brutalities must stop immediately,” Adhikari told reporters.
An alarming situation has been created by this administration. Many protesters have been injured. If the Police Commissioner Vineet Goel and the DGP don’t stop this violence, we will not remain silent. I am heading to Howrah station en route to Belur Math because I don’t want to break the law. We are not joining the Chhatra Samaj movement as they requested us to stay away, but we stand with them,” he added.
The woman was raped and murdered inside the seminar hall of the medical college and hospital on August 9. She had gone there to rest during her 36-hour shift.
Initial reports from the hospital’s ex-principal, Sandip Ghosh, suggested it was a suicide. Ghosh, now under CBI investigation for both the murder and alleged financial irregularities, along with the main accused Sanjay Roy and others, have undergone lie-detector tests as part of the probe.
The autopsy revealed that the woman had been sexually assaulted and strangled to death, with 25 internal and external injuries found on her body.
