Suvendu Adhikari said the Bengal government would replace the health secretary if it is established that he ordered repairs to washrooms adjoining the seminar room at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, where a 31-year-old postgraduate trainee doctor was found raped and murdered on August 9, 2024.
The renovation began a day after the incident and triggered allegations that work may have compromised evidence. Protesters had questioned whether the washrooms formed part of the crime scene. The Central Bureau of Investigation is probing the rape-murder case and related matters.
Adhikari said the government would examine whether the health secretary, who also held the post at the time, had directed the work. “PWD handled building maintenance and electrical work. After the victim’s mother spoke to me and the health minister, we would examine whether the current health secretary, who also held the post then, had ordered repairs and, if so, we will replace him,” he said.
The statement was made at the inauguration of the eighth national conference of MeDe Vision, the medical student cell of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, at RG Kar. Panihati MLA Ratna Debnath was present on the dais.
Adhikari described the crime as painful, barbaric and shameful. He said the government had suspended three Indian Police Service officers — Vineet Goyal, Indira Mukherjee and Abhishek Gupta. He also claimed that a file seeking permission to prosecute other officials and doctors connected with the case had remained pending with the previous chief minister for two-and-a-half years.
According to Adhikari, he granted the necessary no-objection certificate within a day of taking office. He also alleged that a mob vandalised the hospital on the night of August 14, 2024, with the backing of the then local MLA, and accused the former chief minister of tacitly approving the incident. These claims were made by Adhikari in his address and were not independently detailed in the supplied report.
The repair work has become a continuing point of contention because of its timing and the questions raised over access to areas adjoining the seminar room. The latest statement places responsibility for establishing who ordered the work with the state government’s examination of official records and the ongoing legal process.
Adhikari said the government would pursue justice within legal and constitutional limits. “Regarding this Abhaya case, I promise we will do it, we will do it,” he said. The CBI investigation into the rape-murder case and related cases remains underway.
