'Your daughter has probably died by suicide.': The purported telecon between RG Kar victim's parents and hospital on the fateful day

It was just another morning for the middle-class family in north Kolkata when they got the first phone call.

Little did they know that a previous night's call around 11:30 PM with their daughter would be the last time her mother would speak to her.

The daughter who had made her parents proud by becoming a doctor and was studying further, was at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital for a long shift.

On the morning of August 9, three calls within half an hour shattered their little world and set them off on a fight for justice.

IBNS like other mainstream media has accessed the purported audio of the calls made to the parents the morning after the 31-year-old junior doctor was raped and murdered at the hospital. However, IBNS has not verified its authenticity.

Their voices capture the shock and confusion of the two elderly parents long before reaching the hospital to find their daughter's brutalised corpse.

The first call:

The parents of the victim have told the court that the first call came at 10.53 am. The caller was a woman, who identified herself as the Assistant Superintendent of the hospital.

The Kolkata Police timeline submitted to the Supreme Court states that the official called the parents at this time and "informed them", but does not elaborate on the conversation. The cops' timeline mentions only one call.

The three purported audio files, however, reveal that three calls were made and it was only in the last call that the victim's parents were told that she had died.

Also read: RG Kar rape-murder: Junior doctors continue ceasework snubbing Mamata Banerjee's appeal

Victim's Father: What has happened to my daughter, please tell me

Caller: Her condition is very bad, please come as soon as possible

Victim's Father: Please tell us what has happened

Caller: The doctor will be able to tell you that, come fast.

Victim's Father: Who are you?

Caller: I am the assistant super, am not a doctor

Victim's Father: Are there any doctors present?

Caller: I am the assistant super. We have brought your daughter to the Emergency. You come and contact us.

Victim's Mother: What happened to her, she was on duty

Caller: You come fast, as soon as possible.

The Second Call

In the second call, a male voice is heard. By then, the parents had already left for the hospital.

Caller: I am speaking from RG Kar (hospital)

Victim's Mother: Yes, please tell us

Caller: You are coming, right?

Victim's Mother: Yes, we are on our way. How is she now?

Caller: You come, we will talk. Come to RG Kar Hospital's chest department HOD

Victim's mother: Okay

The Third Call

It was on the third call that the victim's parents were told she had died by suicide. This has come up repeatedly in court and judges have asked why the parents were misled. This call was once again made by the Assistant Superintendent, who made the first call.

Victim's Father: Hello

Caller: This is the Assistant Super.

Victim's Father: Yes

Caller: The matter is that your daughter has probably died by suicide. She is dead, police are here, we are all here, please come as soon as possible.

Victim's Father: We are coming, right away

Victim's Mother (screams in the background): My daughter is no more.

The hospital administration's communication with the victim's parents is one aspect of this horrifying incident that has repeatedly come under scrutiny in both the Calcutta High Court and the Supreme Court.

In their petition in the high court, the parents said they were made to wait for three hours before they were able to see their daughter's corpse. They suspect that this delay was intentional.

Kolkata Police, however, has contested this. Their timeline claims that the parents reached the hospital at 1 pm and they were taken to the seminar hall, where the body was found, 10 minutes later, according to NDTV.

The courts have also questioned why the hospital administration, led by then principal Dr Sandip Ghosh, did not file a formal police complaint and the cops had to register an unnatural death case.

An FIR was filed only late at night after the victim's father filed a formal complaint.

The trainee doctor was allegedly raped and murdered at the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, which is located in North Kolkata's Belgachia area on the intervening night of August 8 and 9.

The incident triggered countrywide protests since it came to light earlier this month.

All inside images by Avishek Mitra/IBNS