Former Trinamool Congress MLA Nirmal Ghosh was arrested in Odisha on Thursday in connection with the alleged “hurried cremation” of the doctor who was raped and murdered at Kolkata’s state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in 2024, police said.
Ghosh, who represented Panihati, was arrested on charges of destroying evidence, criminal conspiracy and coercing a person to act against their will, as per the reports.
The arrest followed a fresh complaint filed by the victim’s father at the Khardaha police station on Monday. He alleged that Ghosh was one of three people who had forced the “hurried cremation” of his daughter’s body.
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari had directed the Barrackpore Police Commissioner to launch a fresh investigation into the alleged hasty cremation of the victim. He issued the order while attending a memorial programme for the deceased in Panihati on Sunday.
RG Kar rape-murder case
The 31-year-old postgraduate trainee doctor was found dead in a seminar room at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9, 2024.
Investigators later established that she had been raped and murdered the previous night.
Police said her body was taken to a crematorium in Panihati, where it was allegedly cremated in haste after being moved ahead of two other bodies waiting in the queue.
Questions have also been raised over the signatures on the documents granting consent for the cremation. Police said the signatures were allegedly those of neighbours rather than the victim’s parents or other family members.
The CBI is independently investigating the rape and murder case following the transfer of the probe from the Kolkata Police. One individual has already been convicted in the matter, which remains pending before the Calcutta High Court.
