Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
The parents of the postgraduate doctor raped and murdered at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital have questioned the bail granted to former hospital principal Sandip Ghosh in a corruption case, news agency Press Trust of India reported from Kolkata on Saturday.
Two citizens’ groups have also announced a march to the CBI office on November 12 to demand accountability in the case. The march, organised by Voice of Abhaya and Voice of Women, will begin at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
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The organisers have appealed to citizens, particularly women, to join the protest. They urged people not to lose hope and called on the CBI to act on the evidence in the case.
“We appeal to citizens from all sections of society, especially women, to come out on the streets on November 12 and show that they do not have to depend on any government to get their demands fulfilled. Let the CBI know that despite attempts to destroy, withhold or suppress evidence, people are still protesting and are on the streets. There is no room for despair,” one of the organisers said, according to PTI.
The victim’s mother, Ratna Debnath, who is also a BJP MLA, expressed anger over Ghosh’s bail and questioned why those who were with her daughter in the hours before her death had not been arrested.
“If everyone had been arrested at the time instead of allowing evidence to be destroyed, the situation might have been different. In every case, the last-seen theory is examined. Those present with my daughter must be questioned. The doctors have said that she died between midnight and 6 am. Who was with her during that period? Why have they not been arrested? Is it because they are doctors? My daughter was also a doctor,” she said.
She also demanded action against those who she alleged had ordered the destruction of evidence.
“Who were the people who directed that everything be destroyed so quickly? The then health minister, the health secretary NS Nigam and Sandip Ghosh… those responsible must be identified. The main conspirators must be brought to justice,” she said.
The victim’s father said Ghosh should have received a life sentence in the case, while expressing faith that justice would eventually be delivered. “He should have been sentenced to life imprisonment in this case,” he said.
Asked about the health secretary continuing in the post, the victim’s father said, “He will not remain in the post. The chief minister has said that if evidence is found, he can be removed.”
BJP leader Rahul Sinha also expressed surprise over Ghosh’s bail but said the decision rested with the judiciary.
“We were also surprised that Sandip Ghosh got bail. I would clearly say that it would have been better if he had not been granted bail. But can any of us interfere with a judge? The decision to grant or deny bail rests entirely with the judiciary, and obtaining bail is also an individual’s legal right. I can say clearly that nobody in Bengal is happy with this bail order,” Sinha told reporters, according to PTI.
The Supreme Court granted bail to Ghosh on October 17. He is accused of involvement in financial irregularities at the Kolkata medical college and manipulating merit scores to accommodate undeserving candidates.
A bench of Justices MM Sundresh and PB Varale allowed Ghosh’s appeal against the Calcutta High Court’s February 23 order rejecting his bail plea. The Supreme Court considered the length of his detention and the progress of the trial, noting that he had been in custody for more than two years and that only seven of the 147 witnesses had been examined.
The victim’s parents have questioned the bail and demanded action against those allegedly responsible for destroying evidence, while the two citizens’ groups plan to march to the CBI office on November 12 to press for accountability.
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
