RG Kar Case: Former TMC MLA Nirmal Ghosh Arrested Over Hurried Cremation

West Bengal Police on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, arrested former Trinamool Congress MLA Nirmal Ghosh in connection with the hurried cremation of the body of the 31-year-old doctor who was raped and murdered at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in August 2024. Ghosh was traced to a hotel in Puri, Odisha, days after a fresh First Information Report was lodged by the victim's father.

The FIR was filed at Khardah police station on Sunday, August 9, following directions from Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. The complaint alleges that the victim was cremated without the consent of her family. The Chief Minister had previously said that family members' signatures were not taken at the crematorium, and that the Central Bureau of Investigation was not examining the hurried cremation aspect.

According to a police officer from Khardah police station, Ghosh fled to Odisha immediately after the FIR was registered. He was hiding at a hotel in Puri and was using a new SIM card to avoid being traced. The officer said Ghosh was in contact with only a few close aides. "After the FIR was lodged, we started tracking his mobile tower location on Tuesday. We traced him to a hotel and arrested him in the early hours of Wednesday," the officer said. Ghosh is being brought to Kolkata by road and will be produced before a court on Friday, police said.

The victim's mother, Ratna Debnath, who is now a Bharatiya Janata Party MLA from Panihati, had earlier moved the Sealdah court on May 13 seeking the arrest of Ghosh, local Trinamool Congress councillor Sanjib Mukhopadhyay, and another party functionary, Somnath Das. The family had alleged that Ghosh and his associates made attempts to cremate the body hastily to prevent a second autopsy. It was also alleged that the cremation was carried out without handing over the necessary documents to the victim's family.

On June 18, a CBI team visited the crematorium where the victim was cremated. The team also interrogated Ghosh.

Ghosh is a former MLA from Panihati and has served as the government chief whip of the Mamata Banerjee administration. His son, Tirthankar Ghosh, contested the recent Assembly election from Panihati but lost to Ratna Debnath, who was the BJP candidate and the victim's mother. Tirthankar Ghosh was arrested in July this year on allegations of extortion and violence.

The rape and murder of the on-duty doctor at RG Kar Hospital on August 9, 2024, had triggered massive protests across West Bengal. The case was subsequently handed over to the CBI. The fresh FIR and the latest arrest mark a new phase in the legal proceedings related to the handling of the victim's remains.