Social media has been rife with the claim that 150mg of semen was found in the victim of the horrific rape and murder at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. This claim was also reported by multiple news outlets, which cited the victim's autopsy report as the source of the claim. Some users also claimed that the weight of semen found was 150 gm.
BOOM found this claim to be misleading; Dr. JA Jaylal, former National President of the Indian Medical Association, confirmed to us that according to the autopsy report, the '150m' figure in grams referred to weight of the entirety of the "External and Internal Genitalia". The West Bengal government also relayed the same to the Supreme Court on Tuesday, during a suo moto plea hearing on the case.
A 31-year old trainee doctor was raped and murdered while on night shift duty at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9, 2024. The victim, a second-year MD student in the Chest Medicine department, was found murdered in the hospital's seminar hall. The tragic crime has sparked nationwide protests by the medical fraternity and civil society groups calling for safety of women in India.
An article by Business Today quoted Dr Subarna Goswami, who cited the autopsy report to claim that 150mg of semen was found in the victim's body. "That quantity cannot be of one person. It suggests the involvement of multiple people," she told Business Today. (Click here for an archive of the article)
The first petition filed by the victim's family also interpreted the figure of 150mg in the post mortem report as the weight of the semen found in the victim's body, which was further reported by many news outlets (NDTV, Mint, Hindustan Times).
Several social media users and news outlets further shared this claim, making it viral. Some users also claimed that the weight of the semen found in the victim's body was 150 gm.
Fact Check
BOOM accessed the post mortem report, containing details of the autopsy, which has not been made public.
In the report, a section titled "External and Internal Genitalia" includes an observation which reads, "As noted. White thick viscid (viscous) liquid present inside the endocervical canal, which is collected as noted above." This is followed by the figure "Wt-151 gm".
BOOM reached out to Dr. JA Jaylal, former National President of the Indian Medical Association, who told us that as per the report, the weight of "151 gm" would refer to the "External and Internal Genitalia", and not the weight of the "white thick viscid (viscous) liquid present inside the endocervical canal".
The report also includes the weight of other organs, along with observations on its state - the liver, described as congested, and weighing 1134 gm; spleen described as healthy, weighing 90 gm; and the kidneys described as congested, weighing 82 gm on the right kidney, and 88 gm on the left kidney.
On the cause of death, it mentioned the opinions of the medical officer as, "Death was due to manual strangulation associated with smother as noted above. Manner of death - homicidal."
It further included that "there is medical evidence of forceful penetration/insertion in her genitalia - possibility of sexual assault."
Dr Jaylal also added that the report appears to have been done hastily, which several ambiguities describing the status of the victim's body. "I would say it has been done by an amateur," he stated.