Investigators in the rape and murder case of a junior doctor in a Kolkata hospital have released a CCTV screen grab of the suspect entering the hospital an hour after midnight.

The CCTV footage also shows a Bluetooth earphone coiled around the suspect’s neck. The police had said they found a Bluetooth earphones from the crime scene during initial investigation after the body of the woman was found inside the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

The CCTV footage shows Sanjay Roy entering the hospital at 1.03 am, sources said. During interrogation, the police had shown him the CCTV evidence, after which Sanjay Roy admitted to the crime, sources have said.

Before he reached the hospital at 1.03 am the night the junior doctor was raped and murdered, Sanjay Roy had gone to two brothels in Kolkata, the police have said. He went to the red light area Sonagachi on August 8 night, drank alcohol, and visited two brothels one after another, sources had said.

He then went to the hospital after midnight. This was the time he was seen on CCTV entering and leaving the seminar hall, where the junior doctor had gone to sleep.

The case has sparked protests across the country. The protests have been especially intense in Kolkata.

A special court in Kolkata yesterday allowed a polygraph test to be conducted on Sanjay Roy. The court has already given its permission to conduct the lie-detection test on Sandip Ghosh, the former principal of the medical college, and four other doctors who were on duty at the hospital in the intervening night of August 8-9.

A match on a dating app, an invitation to a fancy restaurant and a bill that will not just burn a hole in the pocket but set whatever you’re wearing on fire – the standard modus operandi of ‘scam dates’ has claimed many victims. 

The latest example of this exploitative scheme comes from The Godfather Club in Mumbai’s Andheri West, which is now under investigation following a viral social media post. The post, shared by activist Deepika Narayan Bhardwaj on X, has shed light on a scam that has left several men out of pocket and deeply embarrassed.

According to Ms Bhardwaj’s post, the scam begins innocently enough on popular dating apps like Tinder, Bumble, Hinge and OKCupid. Men connect with women who quickly express interest in meeting up. The chosen venue is often The Godfather Club or another similar establishment in the vicinity. Once at the location, the women reportedly order expensive items such as high-end liquor or hookah, none of which appear on the menu. The men, eager to impress, are unaware of the looming financial trap.

🚨 MUMBAI DATING SCAM EXPOSE 🚨

THE GODFATHER CLUB ANDHERI WEST

◾BRAZEN SCAMMING EVERYDAY
◾12 victims in touch
◾Trap laid through Tinder, Bumble
◾Bill amounts 23K- 61K
◾3 men trapped by same girl@MumbaiPolice @CPMumbaiPolice @mymalishka @CMOMaharashtra@zomato pic.twitter.com/qGOacFCE9f

— Deepika Narayan Bhardwaj (@DeepikaBhardwaj) August 23, 2024

After the orders have been placed, the women abruptly leave, often citing an emergency, leaving the men to face an exorbitant bill. The sums involved are staggering, with bills ranging from Rs 23,000 to Rs 61,000, as evidenced by photos of receipts shared by Ms Bhardwaj. When the men protest or refuse to pay, they are reportedly threatened by the club’s staff or bouncers, forcing them to settle the bill out of fear and humiliation.

The Godfather Club is not the only venue under scrutiny. Ms Bhardwaj’s post hints at a broader network of nightclubs across Mumbai engaging in similar practices. These establishments allegedly employ PR personnel who hire women to bait men on dating apps, luring them into expensive and intimidating situations.

Similar incidents have also been reported across major cities like Delhi, Gurugram, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, among others. In June, a civil service aspirant’s date went wrong when he was scammed into paying a staggering Rs 1.2 lakh in bills at a popular joint in the national capital. 

The study highlights that while NIRF rankings aim to enhance transparency and accountability, there are several inconsistencies inherent in the framework that raises concerns about their reliability