KOLKATA: A man dressed in a red T-shirt in a leaked video of the crime scene on Aug 9 that went public on Friday and led to clarification from police sparked a fierce row with the state chapter of Indian Medical Association claiming the man in red to be a member of the infamous “North Bengal lobby” who had no business being at the crime scene and Kolkata Police insisting he is a fingerprint expert and hence was part of the investigating team.
Doctors who are members of the Bengal branch of IMA said the man in the red tee who was seen close to the body of the deceased doctor in the video taken in conference room – the crime scene – on Aug 9 was that of Avik De, one of the doctors named as an influential member of the ‘health syndicate’ run by a powerful ‘North Bengal lobby’. Doctors across the board have been demanding its dismantling for almost a fortnight.
Right after the leaked video surfaced on Friday, agitating junior doctors and parents of the 31-year-old had raised questions about the man in the red T-shirt. Following this, Kolkata Police had at a press conference on Friday evening and identified all persons, including the man in red who cops said was a fingerprint expert.
On Saturday, IMA members countered the police claim: “When did Dr Avik De become a fingerprint expert as stated by Kolkata Police?” IMA Bengal further questioned De’s presence at the crime scene as he was not even part of R G Kar Medical College.
Junior doctors, from day one, have been crying foul over presence of many individuals at the crime scene who were neither R G Kar Medical College officials, nor police.
De, a first year PGT in general surgery at IPGMER, is also a member of the West Bengal Medical Council. An alumnus of North Bengal Medical College, his name and photograph appear prominently in the list of the so called ‘North Bengal lobby’ in posters that came up in various medical colleges about a week ago. Later on that day, De was also seen behind the DME on the R G Kar campus when he later briefed the media.
“DC Central Madam/CBI must reidentify this man in red shirt and probe what he was doing in the crime scene,” said a statement from IMA West Bengal.
Kolkata Police on Saturday reiterated its claim that the man in the red shirt was a fingerprint expert. “We stand firmly with whatever we stated on Friday. We are not liable to answer for everyone wearing a red shirt or T-shirt and who might present at the seminar hall on Aug 9 unless they have entered the restricted area which we had cordoned off. We are, however, accountable for our probe team and have already identified each one present in the footage,” said an officer who has led the probe for KP. Lalbazar did not put out an official statement on Saturday. “Anyone not satisfied with our explanations can take the footage to the CBI or any court of law. We will welcome any independent probe into our role. We will be selective in our response so as not to impede the probe,” said a source.
TOI tried to contact De but found his number unreachable while messages to him were not answered. Sources in IPGMER, where De is pursuing his PG, said he has not been seen on campus since Wednesday.