West Bengal Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari on Thursday hit back at Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal, who alleged that a vicious campaign was being run against the police in the trainee doctor's rape and murder case. Earlier today, the CP blamed a 'media campaign' for the vandalism that happened at RG Kar Medical College.
Suvendu shot back, saying the police had drawn the ire of the people because of its own deeds. "No Mr. @CPKolkata Vineet Goyal, you and your Police Force are not the target of any "malicious media campaign". You have drawn the ire of the People and criticism of the Media because of your own deeds," he said.
The BJP leader then asked a series of questions to point out lapses by the police in handling the case since the start. His first question was why the local Police Station helped the conspirators register a case of unnatural death in the first place. He also asked why the police did not stop the malicious campaign to label the heinous crime as suicide.
"Why didn't you reveal to the public that the gruesome details of the crime scene indicate that it's a case of brutal Rape and Murder? Didn't your silence promote the suicide theory?" he asked. "Did you or anybody else in your Force ever mention that it is a matter of Gang Rape? No. Why? Because the 'gang' is being protected."
Adhikari cited Calcutta High Court's observation, made during the handing over of the investigation to the CBI, that the investigation by the police lacked credibility and it was necessary for having a fair, honest, and complete investigation. The High Court also cited no significant progress in the investigation by police as a reason to hand over the investigation to the CBI.
"The Police didn't make any significant progress as they never intended to make any progress as it would have opened a can of worms which could have exposed the chain of corruption that will reach Nabanna and highlight Mamata Banerjee's involvement," he claimed.
The BJP leader said that the police never tried to placate or comfort the grieving family. "They did their best to confuse them, create a ring around them to prevent them from conversing with the media, and influence the family to cremate their daughter as early as possible."
Adhikari also claimed that the events of last night where an unruly mob was allowed to carry out unabated vandalism at RG Kar were completely facilitated by the police. "The conspiracy was hatched by the Police, TMC and State Govt. It was a brazen attempt to wipe out or tamper any evidence which the Police could not contaminate in the first few days."
"You lost the trust of the Public because of your attempts to botch up the investigation, not because of any media campaign," he said
Earlier this morning, the CP said what had happened at RG Kar Medical College was because of the wrong media campaign. "What has Kolkata Police not done? My men have worked day and night to collect the best evidence. Rumours are being floated that the accused has links with some politician Mahapatra. He is an intern, and he comes from a humble background," Goyal said referring to reports that the police were trying to protect some other interns who may be involved in the crime.
The top cop said that the Kolkata Police had lost the trust of the people because of the "malicious media campaign". He also asserted that the police never said that there was only one accused.