Sanjoy Roy, accused of raping and murdering a 31-year-old doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, was not a hospital employee, but was frequently seen in buildings on the campus.

Roy worked as a civic volunteer with Kolkata Police. Civic volunteers are contractual staff recruited to assist cops in various kinds of work, including traffic management and disaster response. Paid around Rs 12,000 a month, these volunteers do not enjoy the facilities available to regular police personnel.

According to reports, Roy joined Kolkata Police’s disaster management group as a volunteer in 2019 but later shifted to police welfare cell. He then moved to the police outpost at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital and had access to all departments. Roy, reports say, was part of a racket in the state-run hospital that charged patients’ relatives for ensuring admission. He would also charge patients’ relatives for finding a bed at nearby nursing homes if they did not get a bed at the government hospital.

Despite not being a regular cop, Roy used his contacts to stay at the police barracks at times. He roamed around in a t-shirt with KP (Kolkata Police) written on it. His bike too had a KP tag. He introduced himself as a Kolkata Police personnel and many other civic volunteers, reports say, thought he was actually a cop.

According to reports in local media, Roy admitted to the crime soon after police started questioning him. The reports say he showed no remorse and said nonchalantly, “Hang me if you want”. His mobile phone was full of pornographic material, it is learnt.

Roy was arrested after a CCTV camera on the hospital premises captured him entering the emergency building around 4 am on Friday; the doctor’s body was found in the same building hours later. Another big clue was a Bluetooth headset found next to the victim’s body. The CCTV footage showed the headset round Roy’s neck when he enters the building. It was missing when he exited. The headset next to the victim’s body also paired with his phone.

According to sources, Roy went home after committing the heinous crime and washed his clothes to destroy evidence. Police have, however, found bloodstains on his shoes. The accused has been remanded in police custody till August 23.

The doctor’s horrifying rape and murder on duty have sparked nationwide protests. Amid the agitation, the principal of the medical college has resigned. Questions have been raised on the safety of doctors if everyone enjoyed unabated access to the premises at odd hours too.

In a shocking incident, a woman doctor at a government hospital in West Bengal was threatened with rape and murder by a civic volunteer. The accused, who has been arrested, had pointed to the sexual assault and killing of a medical trainee at a Kolkata hospital and warned he would repeat the same if he does not get proper treatment.

Susanta Roy, who was identified as a civic volunteer by a district official, had gone to Bhatar State General Hospital in Purba Bardhaman district on Friday night for treatment. He entered the emergency ward in a drunk state and threated the doctor with the same consequence as the Kolkata medic, doctors at the hospital alleged.

“You know what happened at RG Kar Hospital, I will do it here,” the accused had warned.

Doctors and nurses of the Bhatar hospital held demonstrations on Saturday, after which he was arrested.

“The patient allegedly told the attending doctor that if the medic did not treat him properly, he would ensure the same treatment as the woman doctor of R G Kar Hospital in Kolkata witnessed. The doctor, as part of her duty and medical ethics, did not stop the treatment, and she discussed the matter with other staffers,” said a district health official.

He said the doctors went to the office of Chief Medical Officer of Health on Sunday and demanded that the man be punished.

Massive protests have erupted across the country demanding justice after a trainee doctor was raped and murdered while on duty at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata.

Her semi-naked body was found in the seminar hall of the hospital on Saturday morning. An initial autopsy revealed horrific details of injuries that she suffered, including a broken neck bone and bleeding from her eyes and mouth.

A civic volunteer was arrested on Saturday in connection with the case.

The ‘civic volunteers’ force, also referred to as civic police, was formed in 2013 to assist the cops in Bengal. There have been multiple instances and controversies involving such ‘civic volunteers’ trying to assert themselves as equivalent to the police.

Odisha’s transport minister recently called for an investigation into helicopter rides taken by V K Pandian, a bureaucrat-turned-politician, between February and September last year. Questions have arisen about the costs and authorization of these rides, as 450 helipads were constructed using government funds. Officials promise a thorough probe into the expenditures and permissions involved.