"Not just seminar room, seal entire crime zone": HC orders CBI in RG Kar case

Calcutta High Court on Tuesday issued a stern directive to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to expand its security perimeter at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. A division bench comprising Justice Shampa Sarkar and Justice Tirthankar Ghosh ordered the federal agency to seal all premises within the hospital complex that could hold any connection to the tragedy.

This includes Sandeep Ghosh's former chamber and the rooms adjacent to the third-floor seminar hall, expanding on the lone seminar room previously cordoned off by federal investigators. The court's decision directly addresses the long-standing concerns raised by Abhaya’s family, who have consistently claimed that vital forensic evidence might have been compromised in the immediate aftermath of the incident because adjacent rooms were left accessible.

During the hearing, the division bench questioned the CBI on why only the seminar hall was isolated when it took over the case. Although the federal agency replied that it deemed further sealing unnecessary at the time, the judges overruled the stance to protect the absolute integrity of the ongoing probe. The high court scheduled the next hearing of the case for this coming Thursday.