Former Trinamool Congress MLA Nirmal Ghosh was arrested on August 13 in connection with the alleged hurried cremation of the 31-year-old postgraduate trainee doctor who was raped and murdered at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in August 2024.
The arrest follows an FIR registered at Khardah police station on the basis of a complaint by the victim’s father, who alleged that Ghosh, Panihati councillor Somnath Dey and local TMC functionary and neighbour Sanjib Mukherjee supervised the cremation and acted to prevent a possible second post-mortem and conceal evidence.
Police are separately investigating the circumstances of the cremation, while the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) continues its court-monitored investigation into the rape and murder itself. West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari had ordered the fresh police probe on August 8, saying the role of Ghosh, Dey and Mukherjee in the cremation needed to be investigated.
A senior Barrackpore police officer said the new FIR was based on the family’s allegation that the body was cremated without their consent “to hush up evidence”.
Police have also raised questions over the cremation records, including signatures allegedly belonging to neighbours rather than the victim’s parents, and reports that the body was moved ahead of two others waiting at the Panihati crematorium. Ghosh’s arrest, however, is not a finding of guilt, and the allegations will have to be tested through investigation and due process.
Questions Around The Cremation
The cremation has remained one of the most disputed parts of the RG Kar case since the doctor’s death. According to the victim’s father’s complaint, the family was not given adequate control over the body and wanted the possibility of another post-mortem to be considered.
The family later told the Sealdah court that they had sought the arrest and custodial interrogation of Ghosh, Dey and Mukherjee, alleging that the three had played a role in “hijacking” the body and facilitating its hurried cremation.
The issue also came under renewed CBI scrutiny in June 2026, when investigators questioned Ghosh and the officer in charge of the Panihati crematorium. A CBI official said crematorium authorities maintained that the cremation had taken place with the consent of the victim’s parents a claim that conflicts with the family’s allegations and is now an important point for investigators to establish.
Earlier court records also document the father’s testimony that the hearse carrying his daughter’s body left RG Kar at high speed, that the family sought a second post-mortem, and that the body was allegedly taken ahead of others at the crematorium. Ghosh himself had denied wrongdoing in 2024, saying the cremation was carried out according to established procedure.
How The Case Reopened
The fresh investigation comes nearly two years after the trainee doctor was found dead in a seminar room at RG Kar on August 9, 2024, following her night shift. Investigators established that she had been raped and murdered, triggering nationwide protests over women’s safety, hospital security and the handling of the case.
The investigation was transferred from Kolkata Police to the CBI following intervention by the Calcutta High Court. Sanjoy Roy, a civic volunteer, was subsequently convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment, while proceedings connected to the case remain before the Calcutta High Court.
The cremation controversy, meanwhile, never disappeared. In May 2026, the victim’s parents formally sought action against Ghosh, Dey and Mukherjee, alleging that their daughter’s body had been cremated in haste and that evidence could have been lost.
In June, the CBI submitted a sealed status report to the Sealdah court and said it was examining call records between hospital officials and police officers after the crime was reported.
On August 8, Chief Minister Adhikari directed the Barrackpore Police Commissioner to register a separate case, stressing that the rape and murder, the alleged vandalism at RG Kar and financial irregularities at the hospital were already under CBI or judicial scrutiny, while the state could investigate the cremation separately.
“The role of Ghosh, Dey and Mukherjee in the cremation needs to be investigated,” Adhikari said. The fresh FIR was registered on August 11, followed by Ghosh’s arrest two days later.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
The arrest should be viewed through the lens of accountability rather than political victory. A young doctor was raped and murdered while on duty, and her family has spent two years asking questions about what happened not only inside the hospital but also in the crucial hours after her death. Those questions deserve answers based on evidence, transparent investigation and judicial scrutiny not political claims, public pressure or social-media speculation.
At the same time, every accused person is entitled to due process, and an arrest cannot itself be treated as proof of guilt. The most important responsibility now lies with investigators: establish who made decisions about the body, whether the family’s consent was obtained, why the cremation allegedly happened with such urgency, what the disputed documents show, and whether any evidence was actually lost or deliberately destroyed.
Also read: Jharkhand Protest Day 20: Ex-CM Raghubar Das Warns Of Hunger Strike If Govt Rejects CBI Probe
