The CBI has alleged that senior Kolkata police officer Abhijit Mondal tried to protect accused Sanjoy Roy in the RG Kar rape-murder case, and got the trainee doctor's body cremated in haste, India Today has exclusively learnt by accessing documents linked to the investigation.
Mondal, the station house officer (SHO) of Tala police station was arrested by the CBI on Saturday along with Dr Sandip Ghosh, for delay in registration of the First Information Report (FIR) in the case and missing evidence.
The CBI officials have alleged that Mondal received information about the discovery of the 31-year-old trainee doctor's semi-naked body inside RG Kar's seminar hall at 10.03 am on August 9 from Ghosh. However, the cop failed to reach the scene immediately and only arrived an hour later, at 11 am.
The distance between Tala police station and RG Kar hospital is barely 10 minutes, with both located in north Kolkata.
The officials have also alleged that Abhijit Mondal's registration of the general diary in police records contained incorrect information. It mentioned that the doctor's body was found "lying unconscious in the seminar room of Chest Medicine" despite she being declared dead by doctors who had examined the body earlier.
The federal agency suspects that the cop deliberately mentioned wrong facts in the general diary entry as part of a conspiracy with RG Kar hospital authorities and other unknown persons.
Furthermore, the CBI has alleged that Mondal failed to cordon off the crime scene to preserve and protect it, thereby allowing unauthorised persons to access the same and damage vital evidence. The CBI investigation has revealed a 14-hour delay by the Kolkata Police in lodging the FIR.
Abhijit Mondal has been accused of failing to ensure videography of the complete process of sealing articles, exhibits, and biological samples, among others, from the crime scene, as required under the provisions of the Bengal Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Act (BNSS).
The CBI officials have also alleged that the cop allowed a hurried cremation of the doctor within days of the rape-murder discovery despite her family's demand for a second autopsy.
Mondal has been accused of an unnecessary delay of two days in seizing the clothes and belongings of accused Sanjoy Roy even though he was arrested on August 10 - a day after the doctor's body was found.
The federal agency suspects that a criminal conspiracy was hatched with the intent of throwing the investigation into the rape-murder off the course.
Earlier in the day, India Today reported that Dr Sandip Ghosh attempted to deceive investigators and did not intend to file an FIR in the case that has invited widespread condemnation, massive protests and demands for Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's resignation.
The CBI's remand note mentioned the forensic report of Ghosh's polygraph test, which revealed that the former RG Kar principal had been in contact with Abhijit Mondal since 10.03 am on August 9. However, Ghosh tried to downplay the rape.
Similar to Mondal, Ghosh too did not go to the hospital immediately, even though news about the body found was conveyed to him at 9.58 am on August 9.
Earlier, the doctor's family claimed that the Kolkata Police attempted to suppress the case by hurriedly cremating her body and even tried to bribe them. Her father said that they were made to wait for hours at the police station while his daughter's body was taken for autopsy. He alleged that the doctor's body was cremated despite there being three more bodies at the crematorium.
The manager of the crematorium, however, denied the claims, saying the body could have decomposed owing to a six-hour gap between the autopsy and the time when it reached the place.
