Calcutta HC to hear next week plea for CBI probe into death of Jhargram Hospital doc

 A Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court, next week, will hear a petition demanding a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe in the mysterious death of a senior resident doctor of Jhargram Medical College & Hospital.

Dr Dipro Bhattacharya’s body was recovered under mysterious circumstances on November 7 afternoon.

He was found dead in a private lodge where he was a tenant along with other colleagues who alerted the Jhargram police when he did not respond to calls. At around 11 A.M. the police broke into his room and found a note and a syringe near his body.

The matter will be heard by the Division Bench of Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya.

The petitioner has claimed that the circumstantial factors surfacing out of the death of the senior resident doctor have enough elements of suspicion and hence merit a CBI probe.

According to the petitioner the factor that prima facie prompts the merit of the central agency probe is the message that he posted on the WhatsApp group of doctors where he had mentioned about the “threat culture,” prevailing in medical colleges and hospitals in the state, including R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata.

The hospital had recently hogged national headlines because of the ghastly rape and murder of a woman junior doctor within its premises in August.

According to the petitioner, since there are examples of biased investigation by the state police in such matters, it is desirable that the matter is probed by a central investigation agency like the CBI for the purpose of transparency in the probe process.

The petitioner has also appealed to the court to direct the West Bengal government to formulate and implement a policy ensuring the safety and security of the doctors at their respective workplaces.

In the message, the deceased senior resident doctor claimed that when he was attached to R.G. Kar, he had been vocal against the threat culture there.

He also claimed in the message that those who instil fear in students, and support nepotism are no less guilty than R.G. Kar's former Principal Sandip Ghosh, who is currently in judicial custody.

In the message, he had also reportedly claimed that such people are responsible for the depression, anxiety, and hopelessness experienced by thousands of young doctors.