Family of nurse found dead in Bengal’s Singur demands CBI probe

The family members of a nurse who was found dead under mysterious circumstances at a nursing home in Singur have demanded an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). 24-year old Deepali Jana was found dead at a private nursing home on Wednesday (August 13, 2025). Jana’s post mortem was conducted at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Kalyani, 72 hours after the death on Saturday, as per the wishes of her family members.

The nurse’s kin initially refused her post mortem at a government run facility on Friday. While the body was sent to State run Walsh Hospital in Serampore for autopsy by the Hooghly district police, the superintendent of the hospital, without conducting an autopsy, referred it the police morgue of Medical College, Calcutta citing ‘socio-political situation’.

Supporters of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) clashed with police at Medical College, Calcutta, when the body arrived on Friday. Later in the evening, senior police officers informed the family that the post-mortem could be conducted at a facility of their choice.

Deepali Jana, a resident of Nandigram, had joined the nursing home in Singur only recently. Her father, Sukumar Jana said that his daughter had returned home a few days ago after completing her nursing studies in Bengaluru. Mr. Sukumar expressed mistrust in the State police and demanded that an independent agency probe the incident. Mr. Sukumar alleged his daughter was killed at the nursing home and accused of attempts to cover up the ‘crime’.

On Saturday, the nurse’s final rights were conducted at Nandigram in Purba Medinipur district.

The unnatural death of the nurse has come to the light at a time when protests are being held to mark one year of the rape and murder of a doctor at Kolkata’s R. G. Kar Hospital and Medical College on August 9, 2024.

The BJP and the CPI(M) leadership has alleged foul play behind the death of the nurse. Leader of Opposition and Nandigram MLA Suvendu Adhikari has also come out in support of the bereaved family. The Trinamool Congress leadership has accused the Opposition parties of politicising the death.