Within 24 hours of the rape and murder of a resident doctor in a hospital in Kolkata, police caught hold of Sanjoy Roy and his mobile phone. When they turned it on, it automatically paired with bluetooth headphones found near the doctor’s body, officials part of the investigation told Scroll.
This confirmed what the investigators had suspected after they had viewed CCTV footage from the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital where the 31-year-old doctor had been found dead in the seminar hall on August 9.
The footage showed Roy entering the hospital premises less than an hour before the crime took place, wearing bluetooth headphones, and exiting soon after, without them, an official said on the condition of anonymity.
Roy, a civic volunteer with the Kolkata Police, was arrested on August 10.
The Calcutta High Court transferred the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation on August 14, after days of protests at the hospital.
What CCTV analysis revealed
Investigators told Scroll that CCTV footage was crucial in establishing the identity of the accused.
According to officials, camera recordings show Roy entered RG Kar College and Hospital on his bike at 3.42 am.
At around 4.03 am, he can be spotted on the third floor, in the corridor near the seminar hall – the scene of the crime.
Recordings show him hastily exiting the chest ward on the third floor, around 4.32 am.
Roy left the hospital at around 4.37 am on his bike, according to CCTV footage.
Investigators say a bluetooth headset was found on the mattress near the doctor’s body. Her friends and family members confirmed that the headset was not hers.
CCTV footage showed Roy was wearing a similar-looking headset when he entered the hospital, they added.
When the police reached the place where Roy was staying, he tried to escape but was eventually pinned down. Asked about the bluetooth headset, Roy tried to mislead the police, stating he had misplaced it at his friend’s place, an official said. But enquiries revealed Roy had not even visited his friend that day. When his mobile phone was switched on, it automatically paired with the bluetooth headphones, the official added.
Polygraph tests
The CBI, after taking over the investigation, sought the court’s permission to conduct a polygraph test of Roy, the principal of the medical college, and four junior doctors at the hospital. A polygraph test measures the physiological responses of a person while they are being questioned.
Officials in the Central agency told Scroll that they have opted for the test in order to rule out the possibility of the involvement of others in the crime.
The role of principal Sandip Ghosh is under the scanner on account of the delay in reporting the doctor’s death to the police. While the body of the trainee doctor was found around 9.30 am, the hospital authorities sent a letter to Tala Police Station only around 3.40 pm asking the police to “lodge a FIR and take necessary action”. The hospital also initiated renovation work near the crime scene, raising suspicion, an official said.
The four doctors are being questioned, the official said, because they had dinner with the victim and were the ones who met her last. They were also on duty at the hospital when the crime occurred.
