Kolkata Doctor Murder: CBI Gets Court Nod to Conduct Polygraph Test on Arrested

The Central Bureau of Investigation on Monday got the Calcutta High Court’s nod to conduct a polygraph (lie detector) test on the arrest accused of raping and killing a 31-year-old junior doctor at the RG Kar Hospital in Kolkata.

Doctors’ federation to continue strike
The Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) on Monday said that they would continue their protests against the murder of one of their own, shortly after a meeting with the Health Ministry concluded without reaching any agreement.

A local court here on Monday granted CBI permission to conduct a polygraph test on Sanjay Roy, accused in the rape-murder of a woman doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, an official said.

Doctors across India are protesting in solidarity with the junior doctor who was killed while on a 36-hour-duty in the Chest Department of her medical college.

Previously, Federation of Resident Doctors' Associations (FORDA) had breifly called-off the strike after a meeting with Health Minister JP Nadda. What followed was backlash from other Resident doctors' association for the body to resume their strike in solidarity with one of their own.

The Indian Medical Association observed a 24-hour-long nationwide doctors' strike on August 16 in solidarity with the trainee doctor.

Protesters march streets across India, demanding justice
A police civic worker working at the hospital has been arrested and charged with the crime, but the victim's family claims it was a gang rape involving multiple individuals. CBI was handed over by the case by the Calcutta High Court last week.

In Kolkata, thousands of people, especially women, have taken to the streets to demand justice for the doctor. These protests, though have only grown to spread across India, with women leading peaceful vigil in solidarity with the deceased doctor.
That horrific incident led lawmakers to impose stricter penalties for such crimes, establish fast-track courts for rape cases, and introduce the death penalty for repeat offenders. However, despite these measures, sexual violence against women remains a pervasive issue in India. The National Crime Records Bureau reported 31,516 rape cases in 2022, a 20% increase from 2021.

Rule requires that the accused be brought before a magistrate, who will ask if he agrees to the polygraph test, the official said.

“The court has granted us permission to conduct the polygraph test on Roy. We are yet to schedule any date for the test. But there are still some processes left,” he added.

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.

The Calcutta High Court ordered the CBI to take over the case probe from Kolkata Police on August 14.