Kolkata doctor rape-murder case: Court denies bail to Sandip Ghosh, says 'there might be capital punishment if...'

A Special court in Kolkata has denied bail to former Principal of RG Kar Medical College Sandip Ghosh and suspended police officer Abhijit Mondal -- the two accused in the horrific rape and murder of a trainee doctor at the medical facility. 

The court, while denying bail, stated that the charges against the two accused are such that during trial, they might be considered “rarest of rare” and this can lead to “capital punishment”.

“On the other hand the nature and gravity of the accusation is grave and if proved there might be a capital punishment, which is only given in the rarest of rare case and in that situation this Court is of the opinion that, it would be injustice flouting the principle of equity, to release the accused on bail,” the court said in its order. 

The court also observed that the social status of the two accused cannot be neglected. “…so the position of the accused regarding the social status is not at all a matter to overlook,” it said, while granting a judicial custody to the accused till September 30. 

Records have been altered or falsely created in the case: CBI tells the court

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the central agency entrusted with the matter, told the court that it suspects records have been altered or falsely created in the case, adding that there might be involvement of Sandip Ghosh and Tala thana (police station) officer in charge (Abhijit Mondal). 

The CBI produced the accused before the court after the completion of their remand. 

Sandip Ghosh, who was already facing the heat of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case, was arrested by CBI on September 15 following the court orders. Prime accused Sanjay Roy was nabbed on August 10, a day after the victim trainee doctor's body was found in the seminar hall of the college. 

A 31-year-old trainee doctor was brutally raped and murdered in the early hours of August 10, while she was asleep in the seminar hall of the college. The post-mortem report confirmed rape and suggested there were grave injuries in the victim's private parts, with her pelvic girdle broken and legs wide open, media reports have said.