Three items found beside the body of a postgraduate trainee doctor from the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in north Kolkata bear no fingerprints, according to sources from the investigating agency.
On Monday, the first day of the trial in the rape and murder case, and a month before the deadline set by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) to submit the chargesheet against the principal of the hospital and the officer-in-charge of the local police station for their alleged involvement in a conspiracy to tamper with evidence, the CBI made this startling revelation.
The agency is required to submit the chargesheet against Sandip Ghosh, the principal, and Abhijit Mondal, the officer-in-charge, by November 14.
“The victim’s laptop, cellphone, and water bottle were recovered by the Kolkata police and sent for forensic examination. The Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) carried out the analysis, and surprisingly, fingerprint experts found that the items were completely clean, showing no trace of fingerprints, including those of the deceased,” said a CBI officer.
The federal agency took over the investigation after the Calcutta High Court's order, following public outcry over the rape and murder. This discovery surprised the CBI team.
“The victim’s fingerprints should have been on her own items. How can it be that none were found? This would only be possible if someone deliberately erased them,” said another officer of the CBI.
Video footage showing the crowded third-floor seminar room, where the victim’s body, marked with external injuries and blood oozing from her nose, mouth, and eyes, went viral on social media.
Junior doctors from the hospital protested, accusing the Kolkata police of tampering with evidence and allowing outsiders into the crime scene.
The police, however, clarified that the crowd consisted of officers from the detective department, forensic experts, and homicide personnel.
What could be the motive?
Asked about the possible motive behind erasing fingerprints from the seized items, the CBI suggested that it was unlikely to protect the accused—a civic volunteer working with the Kolkata police.
“Before we took over the case on August 13, the state agency collected evidence on the afternoon of August 9, hours after the crime was detected. At that time, the involvement of Sanjay Roy, the accused, was not yet known. His name emerged later that day, during a review of CCTV footage showing him heading towards the seminar room early on August 9, when the crime occurred. Roy was arrested later that night after his Bluetooth headset, found near the victim’s body, was linked to his cellphone," said a CBI officer.
"Since no evidence suggests that others were involved in a conspiracy to protect Roy, it is unlikely that the perpetrators erased fingerprints to protect themselves,” he added.
According to the officer, the Kolkata police did not recover any gloves from the crime scene, which might have indicated that the victim had handled her own belongings using protective gear.
"The officer also noted that since the crime took place at a prominent state-run healthcare institution, the erasure of fingerprints might have been intended to protect the institution's reputation. “We are investigating the role of the Kolkata police fingerprint experts who examined the victim’s laptop, cellphone, and water bottle,” said the officer.
Crime-scene visit, examination, and evidence collection
According to the timeline submitted by the Kolkata police to the Supreme Court and shared with the CBI, the victim’s body was found at 9.30 am on August 9 by a colleague, and around 12.25 pm, fingerprint and footprint experts arrived at the scene.
Forensic experts from the state reached the crime scene around 1 pm and spent nearly eight hours collecting evidence.
“We are investigating whether the fingerprints were erased before or after the state experts arrived at the seminar room,” said the CBI officer.
Chargesheet & trial
On October 7, the CBI submitted its chargesheet, identifying Roy as the "sole" perpetrator of the crime. Evidence, including DNA samples from the victim’s body and blood stains on Roy’s clothes, supported the findings of the Kolkata police’s five-day investigation.
Charges were framed against Roy on November 4, and the trial began on November 11. The victim’s father was the first witness to testify before the CBI special court.
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