North 24 Parganas (West Bengal) [India], September 5 (ANI): Panihati BJP MLA Ratna Debnath on Saturday said those found guilty in the RG Kar rape and murder case will face action as the investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is still underway.
Responding to allegations that Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abesh Banerjee, who is a doctor, was in RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on the day of the incident and that no action had been taken against him, Debnath said the investigation had not ended, and the law would take its course.
“No, it will certainly happen. The investigation hasn’t ended yet, after all. The investigation is ongoing. The law will take its own course. Naturally, if they are proven guilty through the judicial process, they will come under the purview of this trial,” said Debnath, whose daughter was allegedly raped and murdered in RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata in 2024.
On the demand for the resignation of Health Secretary Narayan Swarup Nigam, Debnath said he too would come under the scope of the investigation.
“This complaint is not new to me; it existed before as well. He, too, will come under the scope of the investigation. The CBI is conducting the investigation; the investigation has not stopped. The investigation will proceed as an investigation, and the law will take its own course. I have said what I felt. Those conducting the investigation will certainly bring them to justice,” she said.
She added that she had demanded Nigam’s resignation during the previous TMC rule and continued to demand it under the current government.
“I demanded his resignation during the tenure of the previous government, and I am doing so under the current government as well. And I have also directed that the Health Minister of the previous government be brought under the scope of the investigation. If the law provides for such a path, it will certainly come about,” she said.
On Friday, former Panihati Municipality Chairman Somnath Dey was remanded to three days' police custody in connection with the alleged hurried cremation of the body of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital rape-murder victim in 2024.
Dey, who had been absconding, was arrested in Bengaluru on Wednesday and brought to West Bengal in the early hours of Thursday on a transit remand.
The TMC leader's arrest in Bengaluru underscores an expanding dragnet by law enforcement to hold key officials accountable for alleged cover-up attempts, destruction of evidence, and interference in the immediate aftermath of the crime.
The case pertains to the horrific sexual assault and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor while on duty at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on August 9, 2024, when the TMC was in power. The incident had triggered nationwide protests demanding justice and institutional accountability.
The civil society members, the victim's family, and investigative authorities had raised severe concerns over procedural lapses and delays, and the unusually rapid cremation of the victim's body at the Panihati crematorium. (ANI)
RG Kar case: Panihati BJP MLA Ratna Debnath says guilty will face action as CBI probe continues
