Kolkata, Aug 29 — West Bengal Minister for Municipal Affairs and Urban Development Agnimitra Paul on Saturday evening called for custodial interrogation of former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in connection with the conspiracies behind the rape and murder of a junior doctor at state‑run R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata in August 2024.
Paul’s remarks came on the same day Kolkata Police registered a suo motu FIR against Mamata Banerjee at Hastings Police Station in South Kolkata over alleged violation of a Calcutta High Court order during the foundation day rally of Trinamool Congress’ student wing, Trinamool Chhatra Parishad (TMCP), on Friday.
Paul attended an administrative review meeting at the Kolkata Municipal Corporation headquarters on Saturday afternoon. Speaking to media afterwards, she said custodial interrogation of Mamata Banerjee was necessary in the R.G. Kar case.
“The FIR registered at Hastings Police Station is justified. One of the major wrongdoings committed by the previous Chief Minister was the attempt to cover up the death of the junior lady doctor at R.G. Kar. If the former Chief Whip of the Trinamool Congress in the West Bengal Assembly, Nirmal Ghosh, was arrested in that incident, why won’t Mamata Banerjee be arrested? She was involved in the entire controversy, from directing the erstwhile Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal to arrange the autopsy of the victim’s body after 6 p.m., to arranging hurried cremation of the body and ensuring the crime scene was not secured,” Paul alleged.
In the FIR filed at Hastings Police Station, Paul said Mamata Banerjee could not disregard court orders. “The clear order of the Calcutta High Court was that traffic movement should not be halted because of Friday’s TMCP rally. But the supporters of the former Chief Minister did exactly that. Such blatant disregard towards law cannot be tolerated,” she said.