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The Trinamool Congress on Thursday refuted accusations of a police cover-up by the parents of the woman doctor who was allegedly raped and murdered, insisting that a newly surfaced video contradicts their claims by showing the family previously satisfied with the investigation.
The family was quick to respond, claiming that the video was forcibly recorded by the police just after the cremation.
The family members of the deceased medic, who joined the protesting doctors at RG Kar hospital on Wednesday night, accused the Kolkata Police of attempting to suppress the case by hastily cremating the body.
In response to the allegations, senior TMC leader and minister Shashi Panja stated that a new video of the parents claimed that such allegations were false.
"A video went viral yesterday where it is claimed that a police official offered money to the parents in the aftermath of the incident. Another video has appeared in the public domain, where the parents clearly stated that such claims are lies and they only want justice for their daughter," she said.
The video, the authenticity of which could not be independently verified by PTI, was played during a press conference at the TMC office, where the parents were heard saying that they were never offered money.
"We cannot imagine the pain of the grieving parents. The incident is extremely unfortunate and saddening, and we have all been demanding justice for the victim. But, there shouldn't be politics here. We want to humbly appeal that there should be no political pressure on the parents to do anything," Panja said.
Within an hour, the family, speaking to a Bengali news channel claimed that the video was shot forcibly by the police days after the incident.
"The video was shot by the police just days after the incident took place and we were forced to participate. The truth is that the police tried to hush up the case and attempted to protect (former) RG Kar principal Sandip Ghosh," a family member told the news channel.
Panja accused the BJP of not seeking justice, but rather using the tragedy for political gains.
She said that during the debate on the anti-rape Bill passed by the West Bengal assembly, a Bharatiya Janata Party legislator had demanded immediate justice for the victim's family.
"Recently, the West Bengal assembly passed the historic anti-rape bill. While debating the bill, a BJP legislator said that justice should be immediately meted out to the victim's family and that the CBI would not be spared if there were any delays," the minister said.
Panja claimed that the saffron party is engaging in political manoeuvres alongside other parties, which is exacerbating the distress of the victim's parents.
"This is deeply affecting the sentiments of the medic's parents," she said.
Panja also condemned the proliferation of such 'fake' videos on social media, and alleged that those were being spread by the BJP's IT cell.
She called for swift and exemplary punishment for the perpetrators and condemned the circulation of the post-mortem report on social media, labelling it as an injustice to the victim.
"The CBI should expedite the probe," the senior TMC leader said.
"When everyone is crying for justice, including the Trinamool Congress, politics should not come into play. We want speedy justice and exemplary punishment for the culprit or culprits," Panja said.
West Bengal Education Minister and senior TMC leader Bratya Basu said that despite Kolkata Police handing over all relevant documents to the Central Bureau of Investigation 23 days ago, there has been no significant progress or communication from the agency.
He also questioned the CBI's 'lack of transparency' and the BJP's claims of evidence tampering.
"The BJP has been saying that evidence has been tampered with. We want to know what evidence? Why this silence on the part of the CBI?" he asked.
The death of the doctor on August 9 has triggered nationwide protests and led to junior doctors in West Bengal going on cease work.
Panja supported the doctors' agitation, describing it as justified, but expressed hope that they would resume work once the situation is addressed.
"The agitation by the doctors is justified and should be treated with empathy. Surely, they will get back to work when they feel that the time has come for them," Panja added.
The West Bengal BJP shot back, saying the family has 'exposed' the state government's plan to hushup the case.
"The TMC government has done everything to coverup this. The family's statement has exposed the TMC and the police," BJP MP Samik Bhattacharya claimed.