The rape and murder of a young doctor at a government hospital in Kolkata has shaken the entire country. Women across India have hit the streets and doctors gone on strikes. The heinous crime has not just left people disturbed, but sparked anger among the masses.
As people shared chilling details of the brutality inflicted on the doctor, several pieces of misinformation made their way to the online space. Many of these came from official sources, but have been discarded by the police.
Here are some claims that have been rejected by the cops:
#FactCheck 1: Fractures?
The autopsy of the 31-year-old doctor, which was performed in front of a magistrate, was videographed. It doesn’t mention any fracture. Social media posts, especially an Instagram template, talks about injuries like pelvic girdle fracture. The police have denied this too.
#FactCheck 2: ‘Unnatural Death’
The Calcutta High Court has said that the filing of an unnatural death case has raised suspicion and pulled up the hospital administration for not registering a complaint. As a matter of procedure, the police often register an unnatural death case in the absence of a complaint. Unnatural death cases can turn into murder investigations upon receipt of a complaint or post-mortem report.
Unnatural death cases include suicide, murder, accident. The 174 of CrPC and the corresponding section of BNS explains this. This is simply a legal tool or procedure to begin probe in the absence of a complaint.
Kolkata Police chief Vineet Goyal said, “Unnatural death case is a natural process. Murder is an unnatural death. When there is no immediate complaint, you have to do an inquest. An inquest is preceded by an unnatural death case. So, I don’t see why it is being said that by registering an unnatural death case, we wanted to hush up the matter and make it look like a suicide case.”
#FactCheck 3: 150 mg Semen?
There were reports that 150 mg of semen was found in the doctor’s body, thereby suggesting gangrape. The source of this information was the petition filed by her family in the Calcutta High Court. The police chief, however, has denied this. In a press conference, Mr Goyal said, “Someone said 150 gm semen is found. I don’t know from where they have found this kind of Information. And it is circulating in media in all kinds of forms. People are tempted to believe it and they are trying to create confusion among the people.”
#FactCheck 4: Names Of Suspects
Some social media posts have named some of the colleagues of the doctor as suspects. While sources say the parents have shared a list of names of the suspects with the CBI, no agency has named anyone on record, except the arrested civic volunteer.
#FactCheck 5: Son Of Powerful Politician?
It was claimed on social media that one of doctor’s junior colleague is the son of a powerful politician whereas he is son of a teacher from Bankura. The police say such fake narratives were propagated to claim some bigwigs are being protected by them.
Many have also questioned how the doctor’s name along with an unverified copy of a prescription written by her was leaked on social media, in direct violation of the Supreme Court guidelines on reportage of sexual assault cases.
