Kolkata: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday set a two-day deadline before the CBI to complete its probe into the brutal rape and murder of an on-duty lady doctor at R G Kar Medical College and Hospital.
She also blamed the CPI(M) and BJP for the vandalism at the same hospital. The Trinamul Congress supremo made the comments while addressing a gathering after leading a party rally in the city demanding capital punishment for the culprits of the rape and murder.
Giving an ultimatum to the CBI, she said, “Within Sunday, CBI has to finish its probe. It should also ensure capital punishment of the culprits. Kolkata Police already completed 90% of the probe.” The CM then passed the buck onto the opposition parties for the vandalism at RGKMCH.
She claimed, “DYFI flags were carried during the vandalism. BJP carried national flags. They tried to destroy evidence but went to the second floor by mistake. CPI(M) and BJP should remember that hospital is not a place of hooliganism. It is a place of service.”
She alleged, “I know these are politically sponsored to hush up the truth. There should be no politics on an unfortunate and painful incident. When I wanted to know the extent of damage, I heard the amount can go upto ₹50-100 crores. Will BJP and CPI(M) bear it? They are only upto raising their funds which are used for patronising the anti-socials.”
Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal however admitted to an "assessment failure" of the force in the vandalism. He said at Lalbazar, the city police headquarters, "It was a leaderless crowd, anticipating and assessing how many people would gather in one place was difficult. We had to spread ourselves thin.”
Mr Goyal added, “There were many women there and we had to keep their safety in mind; some of the people who have been arrested include women. So we had to be restrained in our response. We could not be using force left, right and centre, just like that. There was sufficient deployment and officers were there, trying to keep the crowd in check.
