Lucknow:

BSP supremo Mayawati on Thursday said incidents of crime against women were “extremely worrying”, and asked political parties to rise above party politics and take “strict steps” to prevent them.

Her remarks come against the backdrop of the nationwide outcry over the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata and also cases of rape of girls in other parts of the country.

“The incidents of rape, murder and suicide, especially of innocent girls and women, happening in Bengal, Badlapur in Maharashtra, Bihar, and Kannauj, Agra and Farrukhabad districts of Uttar Pradesh are extremely sad and worrying,” the former chief minister said on X.

1. देश में कभी बंगाल, कभी महाराष्ट्र के बदलापुर, कभी बिहार में तो कभी यूपी के कन्नौज, आगरा व फर्रूखाबाद ज़िले आदि में भी मासूम बच्चियों नाबालिग़ व महिलाओं पर ख़ासकर रेप, हत्या व आत्महत्या आदि की हो रही घटनाएं अति-दुःखद व चिन्ताजनक। 1/2

— Mayawati (@Mayawati) August 29, 2024

“The Centre and all state governments should rise above party politics and take strict steps in this matter so that such incidents stop happening. Politics should not be done in its guise. This is the need of the hour and also in the interest of women,” she added.

2. केन्द्र व सभी राज्य सरकारें, इस मामले में दलगत राजनीति से ऊपर उठकर सख़्त कदम उठाएं, ताकि ऐसी घटनायें जल्दी होना बन्द हो, ना कि इसकी आड़ में राजनीति की जाए, यही समय की मांग है तथा यही महिलाओं के हित में भी है। 2/2

— Mayawati (@Mayawati) August 29, 2024

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

New Delhi:

The financial transactions at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College during the tenure of former Principal Sandip Ghosh will now be looked into following allegations of irregularities. An order from the West Bengal government said a Special Investigation Team has been formed to conduct the probe the alleged financial irregularities, and will submit a report within a month.

Sandip Ghosh, facing massive criticism over the rape-murder of a doctor in the hospital premises, is now being questioned by the CBI. 

A note from the government’s Home and Hill Affairs Department Internal Security Branch, said the SIT, headed by Inspector General of Police Dr Pranav Kumar, will have the “liberty to access any relevant document from government departments and private agencies required for expeditious completion of the inquiry”.

The team will look into the alleged financial irregularities in the period between January 2021 till date. 

“The SIT will submit its first report to the State Government within a month from the date of its constitution,” the order read. 

The move came amid massive criticism over its transfer of the principal within hours of his resignation to the city’s top medical college — the National Medical College and Hospital.  The Opposition, civil society and the Calcutta High Court had heaped criticism on the state government over it. 

Questioning how can a Principal, who has failed in his duty to protect his students, be rewarded, the judges said, “Even assuming the resignation was not accepted, the least that can be expected from a responsible higher official of the concerned department is to immediately relieve the Principal from his duties and not assign him any other duty of equal responsibility”.

The court has sent Ghosh on a long leave. 

The move to transfer Ghosh had put Mamata Banerjee’s government on the backfoot, with women — staunch supporters of the Chief Minister — being up in arms over the rape-murder and the police handling of the case.

Stung by adverse comments on social media, Ghosh had stepped down not just from the post, but also government service. A government order four hours later announced his transfer to the National Medical College. 

He is now being questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation, which has taken over the probe into the rape-murder that has sparked massive protests across the country.

The agency, sources said, has asked him multiple questions, including ones on hospital security and his resignation. He has also been asked why there was a hurry to declare the death a suicide, the contamination of the crime scene, and the sudden renovation of rooms near the seminar hall where the doctor’s body was found.

Officials hinted that the former principal is yet to give satisfactory answers to these questions.

The CBI is also examining his call records and chat, and has asked him to provide details of his phone calls before and after the August 9 incident.