The Supreme Court has suo motu taken cognizance of the rape and murder case of a Kolkata doctor, which has sent shockwaves across the country and deeply unsettled the medical community.

A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, is set to hear the case on Tuesday.

The case is currently being heard by the Calcutta High Court, which, in a hearing last week, directed that the investigation be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). This decision came despite Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's ultimatum to the state police, stating that if the case remained unsolved by Sunday, the CBI would take charge of the probe.

The case went to the High Court after the woman's parents, along with others dissatisfied with the police investigation, filed an appeal. The court expressed its strong disapproval of the police handling and the administration's response to the case.

Since the outset, questions have been raised about the police handling of the case, including delays in allowing the woman's parents to view the body and access the postmortem report, as well as the swift arrest of a civic volunteer, which suggested a rushed conclusion to the investigation.

Doctors have suggested that the severity of the woman's injuries implies the involvement of multiple attackers. There are also reports alleging that the police hastily cremated the body, a claim the Kolkata Police have denied.

The Opposition BJP has accused the police of a significant cover-up to shield the perpetrators. Their allegations gained traction following a midnight attack on the hospital on August 15, coinciding with the statewide women's "Reclaim the Night" protest. The attack, which caused damage to the emergency department, was interpreted by the BJP as another effort to destroy evidence.

In a social media post today, Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari alleged that the Kolkata Police had "changed" the doctor's viscera and tampered with other evidence.

The 31-year-old doctor was murdered early on the morning of August 9. After a grueling 36-hour shift, the second-year postgrad had sought rest in an empty seminar room at the hospital on Thursday night, as there were no on-call rooms available. She had apparently fallen asleep there.

Her partially clothed body, with multiple injuries, was discovered in that room the following morning.

Sanjoy Roy, a civic volunteer with the Kolkata Police stationed at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, is the prime suspect. Roy had access to all departments within the hospital. He was arrested based on CCTV footage showing him entering the building where the doctor was found. Additionally, a Bluetooth headset found next to the woman's body was identified as being worn by Roy in the footage and was paired with his phone.