Kolkata medic rape-murder: Amid national uproar, CBI gets nod to conduct polygraph test on arrested accused

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.

Sources close to the CBI revealed that the probe agency is likely to conduct the test on Tuesday, to further determine the involvement of the accused.

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.


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.

The protesters argue that despite stringent laws introduced after the gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a Delhi bus in 2012, violence against women in India continues to escalate.

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.