Ex-head of India’s RG Kar College charged for alleged evidence tampering in rape case

KOLKATA: India’s federal police have charged the former head of R.G. Kar Medical College in Kolkata with tampering with evidence linked to the rape and murder of a junior female doctor, a case that triggered weeks of nationwide protests.

Former college principal Sandip Ghosh is already in police custody for suspected graft. The additional charges were made against him in a petition filed on Saturday by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) before a court and which was seen by Reuters.

The CBI also arrested Abhijit Mondal, the officer in charge of police station that has jurisdiction over the college, for failing to protect the crime scene, a source with a direct knowledge of the matter said. Asked about Mondal’s arrest, a senior Kolkata police official said: “We will respond to the charges in court.”

The lawyer representing Ghosh could not be immediately reached for comment.

The rape and murder of the 31-year-old doctor, whose body was found at the college more than a month ago, set off a wave of protests by doctors demanding greater safety for women in the workplace and justice for their slain colleague.