Crime / RG Kar Rape and Murder Case: Former TMC MLA Nirmal Ghosh Arrested From Odisha

Bhubaneswar/ Kolkata, Aug 13: Former Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Nirmal Ghosh was arrested by the West Bengal Police from a hotel in Puri, Odisha on Thursday in connection with the 2024 RG Kar Medical College rape and murder case.

Ghosh, a former legislator from Panihati in North 24 Parganas and ex-Chief Whip of the TMC in the Assembly, was named in a fresh FIR filed earlier this week by the victim’s father at Khardah police station. The FIR also named Somnath Dey, a local TMC councillor, and Sanjeev Mukherjee, a neighbour of the victim’s family, alleging their involvement in the hurried cremation of the victim’s body on August 9, 2024.

According to investigators, the cremation was carried out late at night, bypassing protocols, without signatures from family members, and even waiving charges. Police suspect the move was intended to prevent a second autopsy. The post-mortem and inquest were reportedly completed in an unusually short span, raising further questions about procedural lapses.

Following the FIR, Ghosh went absconding and allegedly used a new SIM card to evade surveillance. Acting on a tip-off, officers from the Barrackpore Police Commissionerate tracked him to a hotel in Puri, Odisha, and arrested him on Thursday afternoon. He will be produced before a local court in Odisha before being brought back to Kolkata on transit remand.
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State Health Minister Dr Sharadwat Mukherjee welcomed the arrest but criticised the delay, stating that “the arrest should have been made much earlier.” Police sources confirmed that Ghosh will be produced before a Barrackpore district court on Friday, where the prosecution will seek custody for interrogation.

The case has triggered widespread outrage in West Bengal, with questions raised over the handling of the investigation and the alleged attempts to suppress evidence. The hurried cremation, carried out under political supervision, has become a focal point of the probe, intensifying scrutiny on the role of local leaders in obstructing justice.
(With inputs from IANS)