The Kolkata Police today arrested a civic police volunteer in the alleged rape and murder of a doctor at R.G. Kar Medical College in the city, which triggered massive protests across medical colleges in West Bengal. The accused was produced before a city court and was remanded to 14 days in police custody.
Under criticism from several quarters on the law and order situation in the State, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that she has no hesitation in handing over the probe to an independent agency if the family demands.
Speaking to a Bengali television news channel ABP Ananda, the Chief Minister said she will hand over the probe to another agency if family so desires. Banerjee also added that the case should be tried by a fast track court.
A 31-year-old lady doctor was found dead at R. G. Kar Medical College and Hospital on Friday morning (August 9, 2024). The doctor, a post graduate trainee was on the night shift and had retired to a seminar room of the health facility at about 2 a.m.
Commissioner of Kolkata Police Vineet Kumar Goyal said there are signs of sexual assault on the body of the victim. “Case has been started under charges of rape and murder,” Goyal said. “If there are any demands from the family that the probe be handed over to an independent agency, we have no problem,” the Commissioner said, adding that the Kolkata Police was conducting investigation in a transparent manner.
“The investigation was carried out through-out the night, we have found several evidences and on the basis of these evidences, we have arrested one person,” he said
When asked about the accused being associated with the Kolkata Police as a civic police volunteer, Goyal said, “for us he is a criminal of the highest order and which deserves highest punishment”.
He added that CCTV cameras in the hospital has confirmed his presence at the hospital and accused had no business of being at the scene of the crime at such an odd hour. The family members of the deceased doctor had said that hospital was unable to provide security to their daughter. The father of the doctor alleged that initially the administration tried to hush up the incident but later under pressure of protesting doctors, the police has arrested one person.
According to police sources, the accused Sanjay Roy was seen in a CCTV footage near the seminar hall of the third floor of the hospital building. A wireless headphone which the accused was wearing was found near the body which the accused was seen wearing in the CCTV camera.
BJP State president Sukanta Majumdar said that administration is trying to hush up the incident and the party workers are protesting to ensure that probe is handed over to an independent agency.
PM Modi offers all possible aids for land slide hit Wayanad
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the centre will provide all possible help in the relief and rehabilitation efforts in the landslide-hit areas of Wayanad district that claimed 236 lives, while over 130 are still missing.
Chairing a review meeting at the Wayanad collectorate to assess the gravity of the situation after he visited the landslide-hit villages today, Modi said supporting the victims of the catastrophe was the need of the hour and funds would not be a constraint.
Modi said everyone’s prayers were with the survivors of the landslides, which had ‘shattered’ the dreams of several families.
He said the central government will make all efforts to fulfil all State government requests. When he was informed that the landslides hit Wayanad, a Minister of State was sent to the state to assess the gravity of the situation. NDRF, Army and Air Force teams were also deployed for rescue and relief and rescue operations.
“I had discussed with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in the morning when the incident took place and assured him all the possible assistance at the earliest,” Modi said.
The NDRF, SDRF, Army, Police, Doctors, everyone tried to rescue and provide relief to the victims at the earliest. All the agencies of the central government were mobilised immediately,” Modi said.
“I want to assure that the families of the deceased are not alone. We are all standing with them. The State and central governments will ensure that no work would be hampered due to the dearth of money,” the Prime Minister added.
Modi reached here in an IAF helicopter around 12.15 p.m. along with Kerala Governor Arif Muhammad Khan, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Union Minister of State for Petroleum, Suresh Gopi. They have done an aerial survey on the landslide-flattened villages in Meppadi grama panchayat such as Punchirimattom, Mundakkai and Chooral Mala. He spends around 50 minutes in the disaster zone.
The PM landed on a temporary helipad at the SKMJ Higher Secondary School around 1 p.m. and left for Chooral Mala on road. After travelling nearly 26 km, he reached ground zero on foot and inspected the collapsed Vellarmala school from a safe distance. The NDRF used a map to explain its search and rescue operations to Modi, who also interacted with the Army and the NDRF after visiting the Bailey Bridge constructed by the Indian Army to provide a vital land link for emergency responders to reach the landslide-struck Mundakkai across the Iruvanipuzha River. The Prime Minister reached the relief camp at the St Joseph’s School in Meppadi around 2:40 p.m. and interacted with 12 victims, including two orphaned high school students, Muhammad Hani and Lavanya.
He then reached Dr Moopan’s Wayanad Medical College at Rippon around 3.40 p.m. and spent nearly 20 minutes with six persons, who were injured seriously in the landslides and were undergoing treatment.
Wrestler Reetika Hooda loses quarterfinal bout in women’s 76kg freestyle event
Indian wrestler Reetika Hooda lost a close quarter-final bout against Aiperi Medet Kyzy of Kyrgyzstan in the women’s 76 kg freestyle category at the Paris Olympics in Paris today.
The wrestlers were locked 1-1 after six minutes of top-quality defensive wrestling but the Kyrgyz won having logged home the last equalising point as per rules.
Both wrestlers played a defensive game and the solitary point each was scored through passivity across the two periods.
Reetika will now wait for Kyzy to enter the final which will give her a shot at competing in the repechage round.
If she doesn’t then India’s Paris Games campaign will end with six medals and without a gold.
Earlier, Reetika displayed power and skill in equal measure while outclassing Bernadett Nagy of Hungary 12-2 in the pre-quarterfinals.
Israel strike on Gaza school shelter kills around 100 people, Hamas-run media office says
An Israeli airstrike on a Gaza school compound housing displaced families killed around 100 people, the Hamas-run Gaza government said today, an attack the Israeli military said targeted Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants operating there.
Video from the site showed body parts scattered on the ground and more bodies being carried away and covered in blankets on the floor. Empty food tins lay in a puddle of blood and burnt mattresses and a child’s doll among the debris.
The Hamas-run media office said in a statement that the strikes hit when people sheltering at the school were performing dawn prayers, leading to many casualties.
“So far, there are more than 93 martyrs, including 11 children and six women. There are unidentified remains,” said spokesperson for the Palestinian Civil Defence, Mahmoud Bassal, in a televised news conference.
Around 6,000 people had been sheltering at the compound, he said. The Gaza Health Ministry has so far not provided casualty details.
In a statement in Hebrew the Israeli military said the death toll was inflated. It said around 20 Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants were operating at the site.
“The compound, and the mosque that was struck within it, served as an active Hamas and Islamic Jihad military facility,” Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani said on X.
Israel says Palestinian militant groups embed among Gaza’s civilians, operating from within schools, hospitals and designated humanitarian zones, which Hamas and its allies deny.
Hamas said the strike was a horrific crime and a serious escalation. Izzat El-Reshiq, a member of Hamas’ political office, said in a statement that the dead did not include a “single combatant.”
Egypt, the United States and Qatar have scheduled a new round of ceasefire negotiations for Thursday (August 15, 2024), as fears are growing of a broader conflict, involving Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has said he will not end the war until Hamas no longer poses a threat to Israelis, said a delegation would be sent to the August 15 talks.
A Hamas official said the group was studying the new offer for talks but did not elaborate.
In Brief:
Finance Secretary Somanathan appointed Cabinet Secretary
Senior IAS officer T V Somanathan was appointed Cabinet Secretary, replacing Rajiv Gauba. A 1987-batch IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre, Somanathan is currently serving as Union Finance Secretary and Secretary, Expenditure.
Former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki dies at 56, Google CEO says
YouTube ex-CEO and one of the first Google employees Susan Wojcicki has died at the age of 56 after two years of living with cancer, Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai said on social media platform X on Saturday. “Unbelievably saddened by the loss of my dear friend Susan Wojcicki after two years of living with cancer. She is as core to the history of Google as anyone, and it’s hard to imagine the world without her,” Pichai wrote in a post.