Former TMC MLA Attacked by Crowd in RG Kar Cremation Case
A former Trinamool Congress MLA, Nirmal Ghosh, was attacked by a crowd outside Khardah Police Station in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district on Friday. Ghosh was arrested in connection with the alleged hurried cremation of the doctor who was raped and murdered at RG Kar Medical College.
According to police, Ghosh, who was taken into custody in Odisha a day earlier, was being escorted to a vehicle to be produced before the Barrackpore sub-divisional court. At that point, a group of people broke through the security cordon and pushed and kicked him. Protesters also threw footwear, eggs and muck at the former legislator.
Police personnel and RAF officers formed a tight cordon around Ghosh and placed a helmet over his head to protect him from the assault. By the time he was taken to the court lock-up, stains of egg and muck were visible on his white kurta.
The former MLA also faced protests at the Barrackpore court premises, where a group waiting outside shouted slogans as police rushed him inside.
Another accused in the case, former Panihati municipality councillor Sanjib Mukherjee, was also confronted by protesters while being taken to a vehicle. Mukherjee, reported to be a close aide of Ghosh, was allegedly present at the Panihati crematorium when the doctor's body was brought there after the autopsy.
Police have also named former Panihati municipality chairman Somnath Dey as an accused. Dey is currently absconding.
The arrests follow a fresh complaint filed by the victim's father on Monday, which was subsequently converted into an FIR. The complaint alleges that Ghosh, who was then the sitting MLA from Panihati, used his influence, along with Mukherjee and Dey, to ensure that the body was cremated in haste against the family's wishes.
The case relates to the brutal rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata. The incident had sparked widespread protests across the country. The victim's family has consistently sought a thorough investigation and has questioned the manner in which the last rites were performed.
