New Delhi:

A key accused in the rape case of a minor girl died after trying to escape police custody this morning, police said. The accused, identified as Tafujal Islam, was being taken to the location – where the crime allegedly took place – for a re-creation of the crime scene around 4 am. He then escaped from police custody and jumped into the pond at Dhing in Assam’s Nagaon district.

A search operation was launched and his body was recovered with the help of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) after about two hours, the police said.

“After his interrogation, he was taken for crime scene re-creation. When he was taken there, he suddenly tried to pull the handcuff from a constable’s grip and flee. He then fell in a nearby pond,” a senior police official said.

Our constable was also injured, he said.

“We are investigating as to how he was able to flee,” he added.

Tafujal Islam was also going to take the police to another accused’s residence, police sources said.

He was arrested on Friday after a 14-year-old girl was allegedly raped by three persons in Assam’s Nagaon district on Thursday evening. Two other suspects in the case are on the run.

The alleged assault reportedly took place when the girl was returning from a coaching class.

She was found in a semi-conscious state near a pond with her bicycle beside her, local residents said. She was on the roadside for about an hour before residents rescued her.

Himanta Biswa Sarma On Assam Rape Case

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had called it a “crime against humanity” and said that it has “struck our collective conscience”.

“We will NOT SPARE anyone and BRING the perpetrators to JUSTICE. I’ve directed the Assam Police chief to visit the site and ensure swift action against such monsters,” he had said in a post on X on Friday.

The horrific incident at Dhing, involving a minor, is a crime against humanity and has struck our collective conscience.

We will NOT SPARE anyone & BRING the perpetrators to JUSTICE. I’ve directed @DGPAssamPolice to visit the site and ensure swift action against such monsters.

— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) August 23, 2024

The girl is recovering in hospital and a report of the medical test to confirm sexual assault is awaited.

Shops, markets, and education institutions in the area remained shut on Friday as a mark of protest. Police and paramilitary personnel were deployed to enhance security during this period.

The incident comes amid widespread protests against sexual violence in the aftermath of the rape and murder of a 31-year-old doctor at a Kolkata hospital on August 9.

Kolkata:

The CBI today submitted its status report to the Supreme Court on the progress of the investigation into the rape and murder of a woman doctor in state-run RG Kar Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata, and as per sources the agency has found several missing links.

The Supreme Court’s division bench headed by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud is hearing the matter. This is the second hearing at the CJI’s division bench in the matter and all eyes now are on the proceedings at the division bench.

According to news agency IANS, sources said the first missing link is the substantial gap between the time of the discovery of the body at the seminar hall of the hospital building on the morning of August 9 and that of intimation to the local police station about the tragedy.

Sources reportedly said that the investigating Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials are trying to figure out why the hospital authorities, especially, the former and controversial RG Principal Sandip Ghosh took so much time to inform the police after the discovery of the body. The CBI has been interrogating Dr Ghosh to join the dots since last Friday. The questioning has been going on for marathon 12 to 14 hours almost every day.

On Thursday also, Dr Ghosh appeared for interrogation at the CBI’s Salt Lake office in the northern outskirts of Kolkata. This was the seventh consecutive day of his appearance. The CBI has also summoned Dr Ghosh’s driver for interrogation today.

The second missing link is the exact person who first spotted the body of the victim at the seminar hall on the morning of August 9.

Sources reportedly said that even after interrogating several medical and non-medical staff of RG Kar Medical College & Hospital, the investigating officials are yet to identify the individual who first spotted the body. Contradictory statements have been given by those being interrogated.

Sources also said that the investigating official believed that once the individual, who spotted the body first is zeroed in, answers for many unanswered queries in the matter will be found.

The body of a woman doctor was found in mysterious circumstances on the hospital premises on August 9. One person has been arrested so far. Protests erupted in the city and later across the country over the case.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

In solidarity with the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata, doctors and representatives of various medical organisations have announced protests at various locations in the country.

The Resident Doctors Association, Government Medical College in Amritsar, Punjab has announced suspension of all non-essential and elective hospital services, including Out Patient Departments, Operating Theaters and wards, beginning on August 16 and continuing until further notice.

They has also announced the suspension of all non-essential and elective hospital services today.

Kolkata Police today said it has so far arrested 19 people in connection with the vandalism and violence at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in the metropolis.

The emergency ward, nursing station, medicine store and parts of the outpatient department of the hospital were vandalised by miscreants on Thursday amid midnight protests by women across West Bengal.

Here are the Updates on the Doctors strike:

Rape and murder of woman resident doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital | BJP leader Bharati Ghosh says, “… The West Bengal government is unable to protect the women of the state… They have said nothing about the incident and are unable to arrest the accused. This is why the people have taken to the streets. This is a revolution of the people’s power. Women are coming forward and they are raising their voice of justice and protesting against the darkness and everything that was being perpetrated by the Mamata Banerjee government.”

#WATCH | Rape and murder of woman resident doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital | BJP leader Bharati Ghosh says, “… The West Bengal government is unable to protect the women of the state… They have said nothing about the incident and are unable to arrest the accused…. pic.twitter.com/LquA9nbLol

– ANI (@ANI) August 16, 2024

Mamata Banerjee’s Sunday Ultimatum To CBI For Death Penalty In Rape-Murder

Amid nationwide uproar over the Kolkata hospital rape-murder, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has announced a rally this evening to demand death penalty for the accused. She has given a Sunday ultimatum to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the central agency that has taken over the probe, to ensure capital punishment for the culprits. Read here

• In solidarity with the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata, doctors and representatives of various medical organisations have announced protests at various locations in the country.
• The Resident Doctors Association, Government Medical College in Amritsar, Punjab has announced suspension of all non-essential and elective hospital services, including Out Patient Departments, Operating Theaters and wards, beginning on August 16 and continuing until further notice.
• They has also announced the suspension of all non-essential and elective hospital services today.
• Kolkata Police today said it has so far arrested 19 people in connection with the vandalism and violence at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in the metropolis.
• The emergency ward, nursing station, medicine store and parts of the outpatient department of the hospital were vandalised by miscreants on Thursday amid midnight protests by women across West Bengal.