RG Kar Case: Ex-Panihati Civic Chief Somnath Dey Arrested in Bengaluru

Former chairman of the Panihati Municipality Somnath Dey was arrested in Bengaluru early Thursday morning in connection with the alleged hurried cremation of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital rape-murder victim, police said. A senior officer of the Barrackpore Police Commissionerate confirmed the arrest of the Trinamool Congress leader, who had been absconding since investigators began probing the circumstances surrounding the cremation.

Dey is currently in police custody in Bengaluru and is expected to be transported to West Bengal on transit remand before being produced before a court in Barrackpore. Prosecutors are expected to seek his police custody for detailed questioning.

Dey is the third person arrested in the case, which added a fresh dimension to the investigation into the death of the 31-year-old postgraduate trainee doctor on August 9, 2024. The victim was found dead inside a seminar room at the state-run hospital, with investigators later establishing that she had been raped and murdered the previous night.

Police had previously arrested former Panihati TMC MLA Nirmal Ghosh and Sanjeev Mukherjee, a neighbour of the victim's family, in connection with the alleged conspiracy. Both Ghosh and Mukherjee have since secured bail. Police identified Ghosh, Mukherjee, and Dey as the three principal accused after registering a first information report at Khardah police station based on a complaint filed by the victim's father.

The victim's family has alleged that her body was cremated with undue haste and without their consent, suspecting that the quick disposal was aimed at preventing a second post-mortem examination and destroying evidence. According to police, the body was transported to a burning ghat at Panihati under Khardah police station in North 24 Parganas district and cremated in haste, allegedly overtaking two other bodies waiting in queue.

Investigators have also scrutinised signatures on cremation-related paperwork, as the family claimed the signatures were not made by the victim's parents or close relatives. The state police investigation into the cremation remains distinct from the Central Bureau of Investigation's separate probe into the rape and murder at the hospital.