Two Arrested in RG Kar Victim’s Hurried Cremation Case; Former TMC MLA in Custody
Sanjeev Mukherjee, a co-accused in the alleged hurried cremation of the woman doctor who was raped and murdered at R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata in 2024, has been arrested by the West Bengal Police, officials said on Friday.
Mukherjee was taken into custody from a residence in Chinar Park, Kolkata, on Thursday night. His arrest comes within hours of the apprehension of Nirmal Ghosh, a former Trinamool Congress legislator and the prime accused in the same case, from Odisha on Thursday afternoon.
Both Ghosh and Mukherjee are scheduled to be produced before a district court in Barrackpore, North 24 Parganas, on Friday, where the public prosecutor is expected to seek their police custody. The third accused, Somnath Dey, a Trinamool Congress councillor from Panihati Municipality, remains at large.
According to police, the arrests are linked to an alleged conspiracy to cremate the victim’s body in haste at a crematorium in Panihati in August 2024. It is suspected that the hurried cremation was intended to prevent a second post-mortem examination.
The case was reopened after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced a fresh probe by the Barrackpore Police Commissariat on the anniversary of the victim’s death. A new First Information Report was subsequently lodged at Khardah Police Station, based on a complaint filed by the victim’s father, naming Ghosh, Mukherjee and Dey.
The three accused had been evading arrest since the FIR was registered. With the two arrests made within the last 24 hours, police said search operations are continuing to trace Dey.
The body of the woman doctor was discovered on the morning of August 9, 2024, in a seminar hall at R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital. Investigations revealed that she had been sexually assaulted and murdered the previous night. The subsequent cremation was criticised for breaching standard protocols, and allegations arose that the process was supervised by the three named individuals.
Police have not commented on the specific evidence against Mukherjee and Ghosh, but officials familiar with the investigation said the arrests were based on witness statements and documentary evidence collected after the fresh FIR was filed. The victim’s family has been informed about the progress, according to a police source.
The case had drawn nationwide attention following the brutal nature of the crime and the allegations of procedural lapses in handling the body. The accused are being held at a police station in Barrackpore until their court appearance later on Friday.
