RG Kar victim's 'hurried cremation': Mob attacks arrested ex-TMC MLA Nirmal Ghosh, aide

Kolkata: Former TMC MLA Nirmal Ghosh, who was arrested from Odisha a day ago over his alleged involvement in the "hurried cremation" of the raped-murdered R G Kar hospital doctor, was assaulted by a mob outside a police station in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district on Friday.

Ghosh was greeted with blows and kicks by the crowd when security personnel were escorting him to a prison van outside the Khardah Police Station to take him to Barrackpore sub-divisional court for production.

A visibly distraught Ghosh was also pelted with footwear, eggs and even muck by the mob despite the tight cordon of police and RAF personnel who covered his head with a helmet to minimise damage caused by the attack.


Read more: Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari hails arrest of ex-TMC MLA in RG Kar ‘cremation scam’


At the Barrackpore court, the TMC leader was also greeted with “chor, chor” slogans by another group of people waiting for him, even as the police rushed the accused to the court lock-up.

A similar treatment was also meted out to another accused Sanjib Mukherjee, the victim family’s neighbour and a former TMC councillor of the Panihati municipality, when the police personnel attempted to guide him towards the vehicle meant to transport him to the court.

Mukherjee, who is known to be a close aide of Ghosh, was allegedly present at the Panihati crematorium when the doctor's body was taken there following autopsy procedures.

The former TMC councillor was arrested on Thursday.

The third accused in the case, former Panihati municipality chairman Somnath Dey, remains absconding, police said.

Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Friday praised the Barrackpore police commissioner for arresting Ghosh and his aide.
"On a complaint lodged by RG Kar victim's father, Barrackpore police hunted down two (accused), and the other absconding accused will be arrested soon," Adhikari said.

Police are likely to pray for a 14-day remand of the two arrested TMC leaders once they are produced before the magistrate later in the day, sources said.

Read more: Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari orders fresh probe into RG Kar rape-murder case

Stains of muck and egg were visible on Ghosh’s white kurta and Mukherjee’s shirt when they were moved to the court lock-up.
The suspects were arrested after the deceased’s father lodged a fresh complaint on Monday, which was subsequently converted into an FIR, alleging that Ghosh was among the three who had exerted his influence as then sitting Panihati MLA and forced the "hurried cremation" of his daughter's body against the family’s wishes.

The complaint was lodged a day after the chief minister had directed the Barrackpore Police Commissioner to launch a fresh probe into the alleged hasty cremation, an aspect that remained outside the ambit of the ongoing CBI probe in the case.
The CM's direction came when he was attending a memorial programme for the victim doctor on Sunday on her second death anniversary.