'Trinamool planted goons': Murdered doctor's lawyer on Kolkata hospital attack

Days after a mob vandalised Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital over the gruesome rape and murder of a trainee doctor, Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, the lawyer of the rape victim's parents, has accused the Mamata Banerjee-led state government of being behind the attack at the hospital.

In an interview with India Today TV, Bhattacharya claimed the ruling Trinamool Congress planted goons among people who had gathered to protest against the rape and murder. These "goons" went on to ransack the government-run hospital with an intent to "scare and disperse the protestors" and "destroy evidence," Bhattacharya claimed.

After the incident, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee blamed opposition parties for the vandalism and mob attack at the hospital. However, there are allegations that some of the 37 people arrested by the state police over the vandalism include TMC workers.

A 24-year-old gym instructor was among those arrested in connection with the violent mob attack on a Kolkata hospital where a junior doctor was raped and murdered. Souvik Das admitted to participating in the vandalism but stated that he was swept up in the emotion of the moment.

When asked about the possible loopholes in the police's investigation, Bhattacharya slammed the Kolkata Police's probe and stated that the way they conducted their investigation was one of the main reasons for which the Calcutta High Court transferred the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Speaking about the probe, Bhattacharya said, "Look at the way the Kolkata Police conducted the investigation. Initially, the hospital administration told the parents that their daughter was sick, but half an hour later, they reported that she had committed suicide. There were doctors present in the hospital where the body was found. How come none of them knew that it was suicide or murder? Our suspicion is that the police didn't conduct the investigation scientifically as they should have."

He also stated that initially there was an attempt to quickly cremate the victim's body because the body in such cases is vital evidence. "The Kolkata Police claimed that the family members cremated the body, but this came later. When student leaders like Minakshi from DYFI (Democratic Youth Federation of India) and others intervened, the probe was conducted," he stated.

"Their initial effort was to cremate the body first. Why were they trying to take the body outside for a post-mortem? These issues are coming to light," he added.