Ex-TMC MLA Nirmal Ghosh arrested over the hurried cremation in the RG Kar case
Nearly two years after the brutal rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, the case has taken a dramatic new turn with the arrest of former Trinamool Congress MLA Nirmal Ghosh in connection with the alleged hurried cremation of the victim’s body.
Ghosh, the former MLA from Panihati and a former TMC chief whip in the West Bengal Assembly, was arrested in Odisha on Thursday, August 13, 2026, in connection with a fresh case registered at Khardah police station. The case concerns allegations that the victim’s body was hurriedly taken for cremation and that the circumstances surrounding the cremation may have involved attempts to suppress or destroy evidence.
According to police, Ghosh has been booked on charges including destruction of evidence, criminal conspiracy, and forcing a person to perform an act against their will. The arrest follows a fresh complaint filed by the victim’s father at Khardah police station on Monday.
The development is significant because the alleged irregularities surrounding the disposal of the victim’s body had remained one of the most contentious and disturbing aspects of the RG Kar case from the very beginning.
The new case is separate from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)’s investigation into the original rape and murder.
According to police, the victim’s family alleged that three individuals played a role in ensuring that the body was cremated in haste, allegedly without the proper consent of her parents. Ghosh was among those named in the allegations.
A senior officer of the Barrackpore Police Commissionerate told media, that the new FIR was based on the family’s complaint alleging that the cremation was carried out hurriedly and that the circumstances raised concerns about possible evidence suppression.
The 31-year-old postgraduate trainee doctor was found dead inside a seminar room at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9, 2024. Investigators subsequently established that she had been raped and murdered.
But even as public outrage over the crime spread across the country, serious questions emerged over the handling of her body.
Police have now pointed to allegations that the body was taken to a crematorium in Panihati and cremated with unusual haste, allegedly overtaking two other bodies that were already waiting in the queue. Questions were also raised over the documentation associated with the cremation.
Investigators have reportedly questioned whether the signatures appearing on cremation-related documents were genuinely those of the victim’s parents or instead belonged to other individuals.
The victim’s family has consistently raised questions over why the cremation was conducted so quickly and why they allegedly faced pressure during the process.
These questions are now at the centre of the fresh criminal investigation. Perhaps the most disturbing allegation being examined is whether the victim’s family was actually allowed to exercise its right to decide how and when her final rites would be conducted.
The fresh complaint alleges that the family was effectively pressured into accepting a hurried cremation. The issue is not merely procedural. The new FIR seeks to establish whether that haste was accidental, administrative negligence or part of a deliberate conspiracy.
Ghosh’s arrest is also politically significant because of his position within the Trinamool Congress. A former legislator from Panihati, Ghosh had served as a senior TMC figure and chief whip in the West Bengal Assembly. His alleged involvement in the events surrounding the cremation therefore brings renewed scrutiny to the political and administrative networks operating around the case.
Importantly, the allegations remain allegations, and Ghosh will have the opportunity to contest the charges in court.
