KOLKATA: Trinamool’s Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, BJP’s Locket Chatterjee and two senior doctors – cardiac surgeon Dr Kunal Sarkar and Burdwan chief medical officer Subarno Goswami – were among 200-odd people against whom police issued summonses Sunday for allegedly “spreading misinformation” about the RG Kar rape-murder or “revealing the victim’s identity“.
Roy had put out a post on X demanding “custodial interrogation” of former RG Kar Medical College principal Sandip Ghosh and city police commissioner Vineet Goyal to know the “who and why” of the “suicide story” that was floated before news of the crime came out. He also questioned in the same post why sniffer dogs were used in the investigation allegedly three days after the rape-murder, a charge police have contested.
Sarkar, vice-chairperson of Medica Hospital, received a summons over an Aug 14 YouTube video in which he expresses anguish over the rape-murder of the 31-year-old junior doctor studying for her postgraduation and questions the “hurried postmortem and cremation”, besides “lapses in the investigation”. He also uses the term “gang-rape”. The cardiac surgeon, who is travelling, told TOI, “While I have explained my take in my video, if the police require more explanations, I will do that.”
Goswami confirmed receiving the summons and termed it an attempt to “gag the voice of whistleblowers“.
“Whatever I have said is based on the postmortem report, which I have accessed. And my statement was a collective statement of the doctors’ organisation (Association of Health Service Doctors, West Bengal) I represent. As a law-abiding citizen and a govt servant, I will respond to the summons on Monday,” he said.
Actor-turned-politician Locket, who had referred to the victim as “Tilottama (not her real name)”, denied having received a summons. “It would have been better had they (police) shown the same promptness while investigating the case. Everyone wants justice for the girl,” she said.
MP Roy, whom Nadimul Haque recently replaced as Trinamool’s RS chief whip, didn’t respond to calls and texts from TOI. Ex-TMC Rajya Sabha MP Kunal Ghosh was the first to respond to his colleague’s post on X, calling it an “illogical outburst”.
Party spokesperson Riju Dutta soon wrote on X, “It doesn’t matter who you are! Whether you are a sitting MP, ex MP, Doctor, Lawyer or anybody. Whether you are TMC, BJP, CPM, INC or anyone. If you are seen to be spreading fake news in an ongoing investigation, which can cause civil unrest and a law & order situation, then you will be summoned per law.”
Roy had put out a post on X demanding “custodial interrogation” of former RG Kar Medical College principal Sandip Ghosh and city police commissioner Vineet Goyal to know the “who and why” of the “suicide story” that was floated before news of the crime came out. He also questioned in the same post why sniffer dogs were used in the investigation allegedly three days after the rape-murder, a charge police have contested.
Sarkar, vice-chairperson of Medica Hospital, received a summons over an Aug 14 YouTube video in which he expresses anguish over the rape-murder of the 31-year-old junior doctor studying for her postgraduation and questions the “hurried postmortem and cremation”, besides “lapses in the investigation”. He also uses the term “gang-rape”. The cardiac surgeon, who is travelling, told TOI, “While I have explained my take in my video, if the police require more explanations, I will do that.”
Goswami confirmed receiving the summons and termed it an attempt to “gag the voice of whistleblowers“.
“Whatever I have said is based on the postmortem report, which I have accessed. And my statement was a collective statement of the doctors’ organisation (Association of Health Service Doctors, West Bengal) I represent. As a law-abiding citizen and a govt servant, I will respond to the summons on Monday,” he said.
Actor-turned-politician Locket, who had referred to the victim as “Tilottama (not her real name)”, denied having received a summons. “It would have been better had they (police) shown the same promptness while investigating the case. Everyone wants justice for the girl,” she said.
MP Roy, whom Nadimul Haque recently replaced as Trinamool’s RS chief whip, didn’t respond to calls and texts from TOI. Ex-TMC Rajya Sabha MP Kunal Ghosh was the first to respond to his colleague’s post on X, calling it an “illogical outburst”.
Party spokesperson Riju Dutta soon wrote on X, “It doesn’t matter who you are! Whether you are a sitting MP, ex MP, Doctor, Lawyer or anybody. Whether you are TMC, BJP, CPM, INC or anyone. If you are seen to be spreading fake news in an ongoing investigation, which can cause civil unrest and a law & order situation, then you will be summoned per law.”