Somnath Dey arrested in RG Kar cremation conspiracy case

West Bengal Police have arrested Somnath Dey, the former chief of Panihati Municipality, in Bengaluru. Dey is the third principal accused in a conspiracy involving the hurried cremation of a doctor who was raped and murdered at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in August 2024.

Investigators suspect the victim’s last rites were carried out hastily at a crematorium in Panihati to prevent a second post-mortem examination. Following a fresh investigation by the Barrackpore Police Commissionerate and a complaint from the victim’s father, a new FIR was registered naming Dey, former Trinamool Congress legislator Nirmal Ghosh, and Sanjeev Mukherjee, a neighbor of the victim’s family.

Dey had been absconding since the investigation began. He joins Ghosh, who was arrested in Odisha, and Mukherjee, who was detained in Kolkata, both of whom are currently in judicial custody. Dey is expected to be brought to Kolkata on transit remand to be presented before a Barrackpore district court, where prosecutors are expected to seek police custody for further questioning.