Kolkata Rape Horror Accused Sanjoy Roy Sent to 14-Day Judicial Custody

Kolkata: The prime suspect in the Kolkata doctor's rape and murder case, Sanjoy Roy has been sent to 14-day judicial custody by Sealdah court on Friday. Roy was taken to Sealdah Civil and Criminal Court under heavy police security after his CBI custody ended on Friday. 

The medic's body with severe injury marks was found inside the seminar hall of the hospital's chest department on the morning of August 9. The incident has sparked protests across the country.

Meanwhile, a special court in Kolkata has granted permission to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to conduct a polygraph test on Roy. While the results of a polygraph test are not admissible in court, they are often used to assist investigators in their inquiry, said an official.

“The agency may have reasons to believe that the suspect as well as the former principal and his colleagues are suppressing information at their questioning sessions. That’s why they may have chosen to appeal for the lie detector test,” a former police officer said.

A polygraph test can help in assessing inaccuracies in statements of suspects and witnesses. By monitoring their psychological responses – heart rate, breathing patterns, sweating and blood pressure – investigators can determine if there are discrepancies in their response.

A team of experts from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) in Delhi will conduct the tests, the officials said. The CBI is also awaiting Roy's DNA and psychoanalysis reports, which will give further direction to its investigation, they said.

The court has already given its nod to conduct the lie-detection test on Sandip Ghosh, the former principal of the medical college, and four other doctors who were on duty at the hospital in the intervening night of August 8-9, they said. The test can only be done after permission from the court and the consent of the suspect, the officials said.

Earlier on Thursday, the Supreme Court set a 5 pm deadline on Friday inside which the magistrate concerned would have to pass an order on the agency’s appeal with respect to Roy’s test. The CBI had alleged in the apex court that there was an attempt by the local police to cover-up the rape and killing of the post-graduate medic, as the crime scene was altered by the time the federal agency took over the probe.

On August 13, the Calcutta High Court ordered the transfer of the probe from the Kolkata Police to the CBI, which started its investigation on August 14.

How was Sanjoy Roy arrested?

Roy, a civic volunteer with Kolkata Police, was arrested a day after the body of the postgraduate trainee doctor was found in the seminar hall of the state-run facility on August 9. The court remanded Roy to 14 days in police custody. A CCTV footage and a bluetooth device found near the medic's body resulted in the arrest of Roy, who was seen entering the seminar hall of the college where the body was found.

Roy (33) joined the Kolkata Police as a civic volunteer in 2019. Police have alleged that he was married at least four times and was a known "womaniser".

The accused, who is a trained boxer, got close to a few senior police officers over the years, following which he was moved to the Kolkata Police Welfare Board and posted at the police outpost at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

SC raps Kolkata Police for probe 'lapses'

The Supreme Court on Thursday criticised Kolkata Police for their "extremely disturbing" delay in registering the tragic case while also urging the agitating doctors to return to work amid the fourteenth day of disruptions in healthcare services in Bengal's state-run hospitals.
The apex court, while directing the central and state governments to take immediate measures to ensure the safety of healthcare professionals nationwide, questioned the 14-hour delay in filing the FIR, as well as the reasons behind it, and scrutinised the sequence of events and timing of procedural formalities.

The young doctor, whose body was found on August 9, was allegedly raped-murdered while on duty, leading to the arrest of a civic volunteer by Kolkata Police the next day, and the Calcutta High Court subsequently ordered the transfer of the probe to the CBI on August 13, with the agency starting its probe on August 14.

While hearing a suo motu case regarding the doctor's death, a bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, with Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said, "How was it that the post-mortem was conducted at 6:10 pm on August 9 and yet the unnatural death information is sent to the Tala police station at 11:30 pm on August 9? This is extremely disturbing."

The top court also directed the Kolkata Police officer, who registered the first entry about the incident, to appear in the next hearing and disclose the time of entry.

The Supreme Court also asked political parties not to politicise the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, and said "law will take its course".