India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Saturday arrested the officer in charge of Kolkata’s Tala police station, Abhijit Mondal, and the former principal of R.G. Kar Medical College, Sandip Ghosh, in connection with the rape and murder of a trainee doctor.
Their arrests followed the earlier detention of Sanjay Roy, a former police volunteer, who was named as the primary suspect in the killing of a 31-year-old doctor, found dead at her workplace last month. Roy was presented in court on Friday.
Mondal, seen escorted by federal agents to a hospital for a medical examination, faces allegations of tampering with evidence and delaying the filing of a First Information Report, a key step in criminal investigations in India. Ghosh, who resigned from his post shortly after the incident became public, was initially arrested on September 2 on charges of financial misconduct.
The CBI has also detained two hospital supply vendors and a close associate of Ghosh in connection with the case. Protests by doctors erupted outside the West Bengal Health and Family Welfare Department, with demonstrators beating drums and chanting slogans.
The case has drawn fresh attention to the issue of sexual violence in India, where a high-profile gang rape in 2012 led to significant legal reforms. Despite these measures, activists say women remain vulnerable to abuse, with the Kolkata case serving as the latest reminder of persistent challenges in addressing gender-based violence.
