The mother of the RG Kar rape and murder victim levelled serious allegations against the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) during a court hearing in Kolkata on Friday, claiming that the agency had done “everything possible” to shield the true perpetrators of the crime.
“The CBI is supposedly India’s most high-profile investigative agency. But they have done whatever is required to protect the real culprits in the case. CBI’s investigating official does not respond to our calls and they still haven’t filed the supplementary chargesheet,” she told the trial court.
The victim’s parents also requested permission to record a confidential statement before a judicial magistrate. However, the CBI counsel objected to this request in court.
On the same day, the CBI submitted its seventh status report detailing the progress of the ongoing probe. The report noted that 11 new individuals were questioned recently as part of the investigation.
Earlier, the trial court had convicted Sanjay Roy, a former civic volunteer with the Kolkata Police, identifying him as the sole accused in the rape and murder of the woman junior doctor in August last year. He was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Currently, the CBI is examining whether there was a larger conspiracy behind the crime—an angle that the victim’s parents have been insisting on from the very beginning.
The family has long accused the agency of conducting a lackadaisical second-stage investigation, but Friday marked the first time the victim’s mother directly stated in open court that the CBI had acted to “protect the main culprits.”
The emotional intensity of the hearing overwhelmed a woman CBI officer present in court. She later emerged with tears in her eyes, telling reporters in a choked voice, “I am too a mother.”