Former Trinamool Congress MLA Nirmal Ghosh was arrested in Odisha on Thursday in connection with the controversial and hasty cremation of a junior doctor who was raped and murdered at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in August 2024. The arrest was executed by police following a fresh FIR registered at the Khardah police station by the victim’s father, which triggered a parallel local probe running alongside the ongoing Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry.
The Arrest of Ex-TMC MLA Nirmal Ghosh in Odisha
Nirmal Ghosh, who previously served as the Trinamool Congress MLA for Panihati, was taken into custody in Odisha on Thursday. This development stems directly from a complaint filed on Monday at the Khardah police station by the father of the 31-year-old postgraduate trainee doctor.
The tragic case began when the victim was found dead inside a seminar room at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9, 2024, with investigators subsequently establishing that she had been raped and murdered the previous night. While the CBI took over the primary rape and murder investigation after it was transferred from the Kolkata Police—leading to one conviction that remains pending in the Calcutta High Court—this new arrest focuses specifically on the immediate aftermath of the crime and the handling of the victim’s remains.
Fresh Police Probe Ordered Into the Hurried Cremation
The legal action against Ghosh follows direct intervention by state political figures. While attending a memorial programme for the victim doctor in Panihati on Sunday, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari publicly directed the Barrackpore Police Commissioner to launch a fresh investigation into the circumstances surrounding the cremation. Adhikari noted that he had ordered the registration of a new case separately, stating:
“The role of Ghosh, Dey and Mukherjee in the cremation needs to be investigated. I have ordered the registration of a new case separately, apart from the court-monitored Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). I have asked the Barrackpore Police Commissioner to take necessary steps in this regard,”
Photo: telegraphindia.com
Suvendu Adhikari
Elaborating on the jurisdictional boundaries, a senior police officer of the Barrackpore Commissionerate clarified the distinction between the parallel investigations to PTI:
“The CBI is probing the rape and murder case at RG Kar hospital, which falls under the jurisdiction of Kolkata Police. The new FIRs lodged at Khardah police station are based on complaints by the family of the deceased that the body was cremated in a hurry without the consent of the family members to hush up evidence,”
Investigators and family members have raised multiple red flags regarding the events at the Panihati crematorium. According to police findings, the victim’s body was rushed to the crematorium and burned in extreme haste, allegedly overtaking two other bodies that were already waiting in the queue. Furthermore, authorities have pointed out glaring procedural irregularities in the paperwork.
Photo: ndtv.com
Chief Minister Adhikari highlighted that investigators are examining the suspicious waiver of the cremation fee alongside the notable absence of the victim’s parents’ signatures on the documentation. Law enforcement officials added that the signatures found on the cremation consent forms belonged to local neighbors rather than members of the victim’s immediate family. The grieving father’s fresh complaint maintains that Ghosh and two co-accused individuals orchestrated this rapid disposal precisely to eliminate the possibility of a second autopsy and successfully conceal vital evidence.
CBI Quizzes TMC MLA Nirmal Ghosh Over Tampering Of Evidences & Hurried Cremation In RG Kar Case
