Kolkata Police have strongly refuted circulating claims on social media and television that the bedsheet used to cover the body of a trainee doctor, who was allegedly raped and murdered, was changed during the investigation. The controversy erupted after reports suggested that the sheet’s color had mysteriously changed from blue to green.
Indira Mukherjee, Deputy Commissioner (DC) of the Central Division, Kolkata Police, addressed the media on Thursday, labeling the allegations as baseless. “Viral video clips and discussions are suggesting that the colour of the bedsheet used to cover the body was different from the originally reported blue. I want to unequivocally state that the bedsheet was blue, as confirmed by our photographic and video records,” Mukherjee stated.
She further explained that the crime scene documentation began at 12:25 p.m. on the day of the incident and was conducted in phases, including during the seizure process, the inquest, and the arrival of the forensic team. Mukherjee emphasized that no evidence of a green bedsheet exists in their records, and the sheet covering the body was consistently blue.
The controversy arose following reports that junior doctors and the victim’s parents provided conflicting accounts regarding the sheet’s color. While the junior doctors asserted that the body was covered with a blue sheet, the victim’s parents claimed they saw a green sheet when they viewed their daughter’s body later that day.
In response, Mukherjee acknowledged that a red cloth, belonging to the victim and used as a covering before she went to sleep in the hospital’s chest department seminar room, was seized from the crime scene.
The victim’s father accused the police and hospital authorities of tampering with evidence, alleging that the position of his daughter’s body and the sheet’s color had been altered. “Indira Mukherjee does not know anything. She was not there,” he told TV9 Bharatvarsh.
The tragic case, which occurred on August 9 at RG Kar Medical College, has sparked nationwide protests and intense scrutiny. The investigation was transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) following a Calcutta High Court order.
Further controversy arose with the release of three audio recordings of phone calls made by RG Kar Medical College authorities to the victim’s parents on the morning of August 9. In these calls, the hospital’s assistant superintendent gave conflicting statements about the victim’s condition, initially describing her as “a little ill” and later suggesting she “may have died by suicide.”
DC Mukherjee highlighted that these audio clips supported the police’s claim that Kolkata Police never informed the parents of a possible suicide, confirming their earlier statements regarding the information relayed to the family.