'CBI must be held accountable': Rape victim's father after ex-RG Kar principal gets bail

Questioning the CBI over former RG Kar Medical College and Hospital principal Sandip Ghosh getting bail from the Supreme Court, the father of the doctor who was raped and murdered on Saturday said the agency must be held accountable for its actions.

The Supreme Court on Thursday granted bail to Ghosh in a case related to alleged financial irregularities at the hospital. He was arrested amid the massive protests over the rape and murder of the doctor at the hospital on August 9, 2024.

"If an agency trusted by 147 crore people has such shortcomings, how can people continue to repose faith in it," he asked, while maintaining that the government could not be held directly responsible as the CBI was an independent investigating agency.

The mother of the victim, Ratna Debnath, is now a BJP MLA.

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The development drew sharp criticism from doctors associated with the movement seeking justice for the victim.

Dr Utpal Bandyopadhyay demanded a public explanation from the CBI over the delay in the case.

Describing the bail order as a source of deep disappointment, anguish and anger for those seeking justice, Bandyopadhyay called for the trial to be completed expeditiously in a fast-track court.

He also demanded swift action against all those allegedly involved in the crime and in fostering an environment of corruption and intimidation in the state health department.

Dr Aniket Mahato, another prominent face of the movement, termed the development deeply distressing for those who had fought on the streets for justice and continued to pursue the cause.

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Alleging lapses in the CBI's investigation into the corruption case, Mahato told ABP Ananda that the agency had listed 147 people as witnesses but had examined only seven of them over the past two years.

He accused the agency of incompetence, alleging that the prolonged proceedings had weakened the case.

Ghosh had approached the apex court after a special CBI court rejected his bail pleas and the Calcutta High Court dismissed his petition.

The Sealdah court granted him bail in the rape-murder case in December 2024 after the CBI failed to file a chargesheet within the mandatory 90-day period. However, he remained in custody in the financial irregularities case.