Former TMC MLA Nirmal Ghosh attacked by mob after arrest in RG Kar doctor cremation case

Former TMC MLA Nirmal Ghosh was attacked by a mob after his arrest in the RG Kar doctor cremation case. Police also arrested another accused, while a third remains absconding. The arrests followed a complaint alleging forced and hurried cremation

Kolkata: Former TMC MLA Nirmal Ghosh, who was arrested from Odisha a day ago over his alleged involvement in the “hurried cremation” of the raped-murdered R G Kar hospital doctor, was assaulted by a mob outside a police station in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district on Friday.

Ghosh was greeted with blows and kicks by the crowd when security personnel were escorting him to a prison van outside the Khardah Police Station to take him to Barrackpore sub-divisional court for production.

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A visibly distraught Ghosh was also pelted with footwear, eggs and even muck by the mob despite the tight cordon of police and RAF personnel who covered his head with a helmet to minimise damage caused by the attack.

At the Barrackpore court, the TMC leader was also greeted with “chor, chor” slogans by another group of people waiting for him, even as the police rushed the accused to the court lock-up.

A similar treatment was also meted out to another accused Sanjib Mukherjee, the victim family’s neighbour and a former TMC councillor of the Panihati municipality, when the police personnel attempted to guide him towards the vehicle meant to transport him to the court.

Mukherjee, who is known to be a close aide of Ghosh, was allegedly present at the Panihati crematorium when the doctor’s body was taken there following autopsy procedures.

The former TMC councillor was arrested on Thursday from a hotel hideout in the Simulia police station area in Odisha’s Balasore and had kept his phone in switched-off mode to avoid being traced, police said. He was brought back to Khardah by the officers late Thursday night after securing a transit remand from a court there.

The third accused in the case, former Panihati municipality chairman Somnath Dey, remains absconding, police said.

Sources said that following the two arrests, the complainant, the victim’s father, had visited the Khardah PS on Thursday and recorded his confidential statement with the investigators with regard to what exactly transpired at the burning ghat on the day the victim’s body was cremated. Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Friday praised the Barrackpore police commissioner for arresting Ghosh and his aide.

“On a complaint lodged by the deceased doctor’s father, Barrackpore police hunted down two (accused), and the other absconding accused will be arrested soon,” Adhikari said.

Stains of muck and egg were visible on Ghosh’s white kurta and Mukherjee’s shirt when they were moved to the court lock-up.

The suspects were arrested after the deceased’s father lodged a fresh complaint on Monday, which was subsequently converted into an FIR, alleging that Ghosh was among the three who had exerted his influence as then sitting Panihati MLA and forced the “hurried cremation” of his daughter’s body against the family’s wishes.

The complaint was lodged a day after the chief minister had directed the Barrackpore police commissioner to launch a fresh probe into the alleged hasty cremation, an aspect that remained outside the ambit of the ongoing CBI probe in the case.

The CM’s direction came when he was attending a memorial programme for the victim doctor on Sunday on her second death anniversary.

The parents of the victim had alleged that the cremation was carried out in undue haste under the supervision of the former MLA and the other accused to prevent the possibility of a second autopsy which could have unearthed vital insights into their daughter’s rape and murder.

Responding to the day’s development, minister Agnimitra Paul said that while the role of the arrested leaders in destroying evidence should be unearthed by the investigators, they should also look into the possible involvement of then chief minister Mamata Banerjee in this connection.

“Mamata Banerjee had said she was in constant touch with her party leaders and hospital authorities while she was returning from Jhargram by road on the day of the crime.

“She could have instructed them to stop the post-mortem from taking place after sundown and could have told them to wait for the next morning. She did not. Instead, she did everything to ensure the crime was covered up,” Paul claimed.

“I feel if leaders like Nirmal Ghosh are arrested, the former CM should also be booked,” she added.

The shocking rape and murder of the RG Kar hospital postgraduate resident doctor on August 9, 2024, had sparked nationwide protests, including a 42-day strike held by junior doctors of state-run hospitals, demanding a thorough probe into the incident and adequate security on campuses.

A 33-year-old civic volunteer, Sanjoy Roy, was convicted of the rape and murder and sentenced to imprisonment for life.

Despite the conviction, the victim’s family has alleged that the larger conspiracy behind the crime remains unresolved, with several individuals allegedly involved in it yet to be brought within the police net.