Kolkata/IBNS: As protests continue over the rape and murder of a junior doctor at Kolkatas RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, chilling detail about three purported phone calls made by the hospital authorities to the victims parents on the morning Aug 9 following the brutality has emerged.
It was just another morning for the middle-class family in north Kolkata when they got the first phone call.
Little did they know that a previous nights call around 11:30 PM with their daughter would be the last time her mother would speak to her.
The daughter who had made her parents proud by becoming a doctor and was studying further, was at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital for a long shift.
On the morning of August 9, three calls within half an hour shattered their little world and set them off on a fight for justice.
IBNS like other mainstream media has accessed the purported audio of the calls made to the parents the morning after the 31-year-old junior doctor was raped and murdered at the hospital. However, IBNS has not verified its authenticity.
Their voices capture the shock and confusion of the two elderly parents long before reaching the hospital to find their daughters brutalised corpse.
The first call:
The parents of the victim have told the court that the first call came at 10.53 am. The caller was a woman, who identified herself as the Assistant Superintendent of the hospital.
The Kolkata Police timeline submitted to the Supreme Court states that the official called the parents at this time and informed them, but does not elaborate on the conversation. The cops timeline mentions only one call.
The three purported audio files, however, reveal that three calls were made and it was only in the last call that the victims parents were told that she had died.
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Victims Father: What has happened to my daughter, please tell me
Caller: Her condition is very bad, please come as soon as possible
Victims Father: Please tell us what has happened
Caller: The doctor will be able to tell you that, come fast.
Victims Father: Who are you?
Caller: I am the assistant super, am not a doctor
Victims Father: Are there any doctors present?
Caller: I am the assistant super. We have brought your daughter to the Emergency. You come and contact us.
Victims Mother: What happened to her, she was on duty
Caller: You come fast, as soon as possible.
The Second Call
In the second call, a male voice is heard. By then, the parents had already left for the hospital.
Caller: I am speaking from RG Kar (hospital)
Victims Mother: Yes, please tell us
Caller: You are coming, right?
Victims Mother: Yes, we are on our way. How is she now?
Caller: You come, we will talk. Come to RG Kar Hospitals chest department HOD
Victims mother: Okay
The Third Call
It was on the third call that the victims parents were told she had died by suicide. This has come up repeatedly in court and judges have asked why the parents were misled. This call was once again made by the Assistant Superintendent, who made the first call.
Victims Father: Hello
Caller: This is the Assistant Super.
Victims Father: Yes
Caller: The matter is that your daughter has probably died by suicide. She is dead, police are here, we are all here, please come as soon as possible.
Victims Father: We are coming, right away
Victims Mother (screams in the background): My daughter is no more.
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BJP West Bengal (@BJP4Bengal) August 29, 2024
The hospital administrations communication with the victims parents is one aspect of this horrifying incident that has repeatedly come under scrutiny in both the Calcutta High Court and the Supreme Court.
In their petition in the high court, the parents said they were made to wait for three hours before they were able to see their daughters corpse. They suspect that this delay was intentional.
Kolkata Police, however, has contested this. Their timeline claims that the parents reached the hospital at 1 pm and they were taken to the seminar hall, where the body was found, 10 minutes later, according to NDTV.
The courts have also questioned why the hospital administration, led by then principal Dr Sandip Ghosh, did not file a formal police complaint and the cops had to register an unnatural death case.
An FIR was filed only late at night after the victims father filed a formal complaint.
The trainee doctor was allegedly raped and murdered at the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, which is located in North Kolkatas Belgachia area on the intervening night of August 8 and 9.
The incident triggered countrywide protests since it came to light earlier this month.
All inside images by Avishek Mitra/IBNS
