Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari suspends ex-top Kolkata cop, 2 others over RG Kar

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Friday announced the suspension of three IPS officers over alleged mishandling of the 2024 RG Kar Medical College rape and murder case. Addressing a press conference at Nabanna – the State Secretariat – Adhikari said former Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal, former Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Abhishek Gupta and Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Indira Mukherjee had been suspended. He alleged that the officers were involved in procedural lapses, including allegedly attempting to offer a bribe to the victim’s family and holding press conferences without written authorisation.

The chief minister said departmental proceedings would now be initiated against all three officers.

Apart from that, Adhikari also mentioned that the superintendent of Presidency Correctional Home has been suspended after mobile phones and SIM cards were allegedly recovered from inside the jail premises. Two other jail officials were also suspended in connection with the incident.

"There was an overall sense of lawlessness in Bengal and we have begun a crackdown. We have got input that smartphones are being used at Kolkata's presidency jail! We began a probe and found the allegations true," said Adhikari.

Sources said the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is likely to take over the probe to determine how the prohibited items entered the prison despite strict surveillance measures. Investigators are expected to examine possible security lapses and whether any internal nexus was involved in smuggling mobile phones and SIM cards into the jail.

The RG Kar case dates back to August 9, 2024, when a junior doctor was found dead inside a seminar hall at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. The incident triggered nationwide outrage and massive protests by doctors, medical students and civil society groups demanding justice and accountability.

Sanjay Roy, a 33-year-old civic volunteer, was arrested by Kolkata Police on charges of rape and murder. The investigation was later transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation amid mounting public pressure and allegations of irregularities in the initial probe.

In January 2025, a trial court sentenced Roy to life imprisonment after convicting him in the case. However, the victim’s family has consistently maintained that he was not the sole accused and alleged that crucial aspects of the case were not properly investigated.

In April this year, the family approached the Calcutta High Court claiming that both the state police and the CBI had failed to examine several important leads. They also cited a forensic expert’s opinion suggesting the possible involvement of multiple individuals at the crime scene.

The victim’s mother, who later contested the Bengal Assembly elections from Panihati on a BJP ticket and won. Dispensing justice for the RG Kar victim was among the top promises of the BJP before the assembly polls.

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