The rape-murder of a junior doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata sent shockwaves across the country. The Kolkata government hospital and police tried to portray the crime as a suicide, sowing suspicion in the minds of people across the country that it was an attempt to cover up the crime. As people took to the streets in search of justice, these suspicions, allegations and counter-allegations mixed together to create a deadly cocktail of truth, half-baked facts and extremely false details.

What did not help was Prime Minister Mamata Banerjee’s reactions to previous sexual harassment cases and her government’s insensitive and opaque handling of the RG Kar case.

But as horrific as the case is, it is also mired in a web of misinformation and disinformation. At its heart is an undeniably brutal rape-murder that has now been overshadowed by a flood of speculation, hoaxes and sensationalist journalism.

HOW RUMORS OVERSHADE THE FACTS IN KOLKATA ADMINISTRATIVE MURDER

In the cacophonous breaking news, verifiable facts and misleading fictions took center stage.

Just like the Sushant Singh Rajput death case, which gave rise to theories of nepotism, drugs and black magic, the RG Kar rape and murder case also saw a flood of wild speculation.

Given the initial negligence of the Kolkata Police in the case, Mamata’s history as a victim of hostility and Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Kumar Goyal’s criticized handling of the Kamduni gang rape in 2013, suspicion was natural. Hospital director Sandip Ghosh had already been accused of corruption and delayed reporting the incident by three hours, further fueling the rumours.

As news spread and the case became public, misinformation quickly spread, including claims of organ trafficking and a porn scam at the hospital, none of which were backed up by credible evidence.

The most disturbing and distracting claim turned out to be the fact that the rape was described as a gang rape.

FORENSIC REPORT RETRACTING GANGRAPE CLAIMS

The first allegation-based reports following the rape and murder of the junior doctor claimed that it was a gang rape, which drew sharp criticism from the public and attacks from the opposition.

It turned out to be false. So where did this theory come from? It was a doctor who gave a byte to the media.

“A doctor belonging to an organisation came forward and made a statement claiming that he had read the post-mortem report. He mentioned that the report indicated the presence of 151 milligrams of white fluid in the private parts of the victim,” senior crime journalist Shams Tahir Khan noted in an Aaj Tak Digital show.

This fluid could have potentially contained mucus, other substances and possibly sperm. Tahir said: “The doctor also noted that the average amount of sperm in a male ejaculation is about 5 milligrams.”

However, given the 151 milligrams of white liquid, many assumed that there were a large number of perpetrators besides Sandeep Rai.

All this was said even though the forensic investigation report did not confirm anything.

Even the CBI status report on the Kolkata rape and murder case, submitted to the Supreme Court on Thursday, a few days later pointed out that it was not a gang rape, implying that only Sandeep Rai, who is now in custody, committed the heinous act.

The forensic report states that 151 milliliters of semen was found in the victim’s body, not 151 milligrams as previously suspected.

The Supreme Court also strongly advised against using social media conversations for court proceedings.

“The victim’s post-mortem was conducted at RG Kar Hospital and was videotaped. However, none of the doctors who conducted the post-mortem confirmed that it was a case of rape or gang rape,” Shams Tahir Khan added on Aajtak Digital.

Allegations of breach were also refuted

Initially, it was also claimed that the assistant doctor’s body had several fractures in the pelvic girdle, hyoid bone and collarbone.

Many social media accounts even listed 13 injuries on the victim’s body. However, none of these were mentioned anywhere in the autopsy report.

Something similar happened in Sushant’s case, where there were rumours that his legs were broken, according to veteran crime journalist Shams Tahir Khan.

Although the post-mortem report mentioned injuries on the victim’s body, it did not mention any fractures. A deputy superintendent of police in Kolkata told The Telegraph newspaper in Kolkata that the post-mortem report did not show any fractures.

CONFUSED TRUTH ABOUT ORGAN TRAFFICKING ALLEGATIONS

Protesting against the callous response of the Kolkata police, Union Minister and BJP leader in Bengal Sukanta Majumdar had accused the Trinamool Congress of a cover-up and even claimed that he had come across chat screenshots that mentioned drug and sex crimes at RG Kar Hospital.

At the same time, a former employee of RG Kar Medical College alleged that now-sacked principal Sandip Ghosh sold dead bodies and accepted bribes from students to pass exams.

Hinting at a larger cross-border human trafficking ring, former deputy principal of RG Kar Medical College Akhtar Ali said, “Sandip Ghosh was involved in illegal activities including trafficking in unclaimed bodies and biomedical waste.”

“This garbage was sold to people from his security team and later transported to Bangladesh,” he told India Today TV.

But so many mouths, so many stories, and the case history began to stray from the topic.

“Has anyone asked which organs are these? What evidence do you have? Where did you get your information from? Why didn’t you disclose this earlier?” Shams Tahir Khan said on AajTak Digital.

If they knew beforehand, why did they keep quiet, he asked.

It is a fact that a gruesome rape-murder took place at RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata. It is also a fact that there were attempts to cover up the crime. There was outrage against the Mamata Banerjee government. However, several false reports have clouded the clarity of the crime.

Given the gruesome crimes and the lack of transparency on the part of the police, the discussion turned to darker and more sensational information. The truth in the RG Kar case may be entangled in a web of rumors, but one thing remains clear: facts have a habit of penetrating dark clouds of sensationalism.