What we know and what we don’t know

Dr Akhtar Ali, a former deputy director of RG Kar who claims he was transferred on the day he filed an official complaint against the director, was quoted by the Hindu as he said, “The principal (Dr. Ghosh) was deliberately failing students, taking 20 percent commission on tenders, taking money for boarding school allocations, staff selection committees, in fact for all the works that were done in RG Kar like placements, transfers or placements of domestic staff, he was taking money for everything.”

Dr. Ali has also alleged that the ex-director was involved in trafficking of dead bodies, biological waste, used surgical equipment and medicines. Some of these allegations have been repeated by other doctors and medical students.

There are unconfirmed reports that the director has approached the Prime Minister on several occasions, giving him access to the inner circles of the TMC and the government.

That, and the decision to attach civilian volunteers — political appointees on an ad-hoc basis with a meagre monthly salary — to the police force is also now under public scrutiny. The accused civilian volunteer, Sanjay Roy, is alleged to have enjoyed the patronage of an ACP (Assistant Commissioner of Police) close to the ruling dispensation, which allowed him to bully others and enjoy disproportionate authority.

Meanwhile, the CBI investigation into the alleged rape and murder will hopefully conclude in the coming days, before the next hearing in the Supreme Court. Here are some details of what we know and don’t know about the case:

Rape or gang rape?

The jury is still out, but the evidence of gang rape is thin. The arrested prime suspect confessed to the crime and has not named an accomplice. He was caught on CCTV outside the seminar room where the murder allegedly took place, going in and coming out after about 35 minutes.

The footage apparently shows no movement of anyone else between 3:30 and 4:30 a.m., the time the crime is believed to have been committed. The deceased and her night-shift juniors, including interns, had dinner together around 2 a.m. Her mobile phone records suggest she had been texting well past 3 a.m., indicating she was still alive. Forensic test reports from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory, which are awaited, may shed more light on the matter.