JURIST South Asia Bureau Chief Shashank Pandey contributed to this report.

India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officially took charge of the investigation into the rape and murder of a 31-year-old doctor at Kolkata’s R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital. The move follows a directive from the Calcutta High Court, which expressed concerns over the lack of significant progress in the initial investigation conducted by the Kolkata Police.

The incident, which occurred on August 9, 2024, in the seminar hall of the hospital’s emergency building, shocked the nation. The victim, a trainee doctor, was found dead with severe injuries indicating sexual assault. The police initially registered a case of unnatural death, a decision that has since been heavily criticized.

Multiple public interest litigations (PILs), including one by the victim’s parents, were filed in the High Court, demanding the transfer of the case to an independent agency. In a rare move during its first hearing on the matter, the court ordered the immediate transfer of the investigation to the CBI, citing the potential destruction of evidence and the need to ensure public confidence in the judicial process.

A 25-member CBI team, accompanied by forensic and medical experts, swiftly moved to Kolkata to begin the investigation. The team inspected the crime scene and gathered evidence, including custody of the accused, Sanjoy Roy, a civic volunteer working for the Kolkata Police.

Protests broke out across the nation in reaction to the murder. One demonstration which took place at the site of the alleged crime was disrupted by a group of people who also vandalized the RG Kar Medical Hospital. Opposition parties in West Bengal allege that the ruling party, Trinamool Congress’s (TMC) West Bengal state government, is trying to delay and disrupt the investigation. India’s ruling party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is the opposition in West Bengal, has claimed the same. BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla added:

When a midnight protest by doctors and women to protest for justice for Nirbahaya [2012 Delhi rape victim] of West Bengal. It was attacked by an orchestrated group of rowdies and hooligans sponsored by the state. Eyewitnesses show how they were brought in trucks, placed in order to break the protest, create ruckus and ransack the RG KAr Medical colle and perhaps destroy evidence es. This is the mindset with which TMC operates.

On the other hand, Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister of West Bengal, led a counter-protest rally on Saturday against the protests calling for government accountability. She stated in the rally:

I know that Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPM] and BJP vandalised RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. They went there at 12-1 am in the night, the video shows that CPM took the Democratic Youth Federation of India flag and BJP took the national flag. They have misused the national flag, they should be punished. How many teams did BJP and CPM send when the incident happened in Manipur? How many teams were sent to Hathras, Unnao? CPM and BJP should not threaten me, we have not come without contesting elections.

The CBI’s takeover is being closely monitored by the High Court, with the agency required to submit periodic reports on the investigation’s progress.