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"Who recruits these civic volunteers?", the CJI asked today after criminal antecedents of accused Sanjoy Roy were flagged before him
Supreme Court has sought a response from the State of West Bengal on the process of recruiting civic volunteers after a concern was raised over private security being recruited.
"The man had cases against him of domestic violence...", Court was further told about accused Sanjoy Roy.
This prompted the CJI to ask, "How many civic volunteers do you have, what is the verification of antecedents that you do and where are they posted, are you posting them in schools?".
The bench also comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra went on to direct State of West Bengal to file an affidavit explaining:
"The affidavit shall specifically disclose the selection process that is followed for the civic volunteers and the steps taken to ensure that such volunteers do not operate in any event at sensitive establishments such as hospitals and schools which may be particularly vulnerable", the court has further directed.
On the last date of hearing, Supreme Court was made aware of another concern of the doctors working at the RG Kar Hospital and Medical College in Kolkata, saying "People who are being investigated by the CBI are still in employment at RG Kar".
Senior Advocate Indira Jaising had told the Chief Justice of India that the doctors could go back to work with a sense of security after these people are removed or suspended.
"This is not a plain and simple murder..some elected members of the West Bengal Medical Council were invited at the incident site by the RG Kar Principal before the police showed up..", court was further told.
The Supreme Court has been hearing a suo motu case registered on the incident from August 9, 2024 where a young doctor working at a medical college in Kolkata was brutally raped and murdered.
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) began investigating the alleged rape and murder of a 31-year-old junior doctor at R G Kar Medical College in Kolkata, following the Calcutta High Court's decision to transfer the case to CBI due to the lack of progress in the state police's investigation and suspicion of evidence tampering.
Previously, the Supreme Court of India had also set up a National Task Force to develop a national protocol aimed at ensuring the safety and protection of women doctors across the country.
Top Court took cognizance of the issues after letter petitions were filed addressing the Chief Justice of India asking him to take suo moto cognizance of this case and issue directions for an immediate and impartial investigation into the attacks on doctors protesting against the incident at the R.G. Kar Medical College.
The victim was found dead in a seminar hall at the hospital. The CBI has registered an FIR, building on the initial police report, which includes charges of rape and murder.
Case Title: In Re Alleged Rape and Murder of Trainee Doctor in RG Kar Medical College Hospital, Kolkata and related issues
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