Former TMC MLA Nirmal Ghosh was arrested from Odisha on Thursday over his alleged involvement in the “hurried cremation” of the doctor, who was raped and murdered at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata in 2024, police said.Ghosh, the former MLA of Panihati, was arrested on charges of destruction of evidence, criminal conspiracy, and forcing someone to carry out an act against their will, they said.The arrest was made after the victim doctor’s father lodged a fresh complaint at the Khardaha police station on Monday, alleging that Ghosh was among the three who had forced the “hurried cremation” of his daughter’s body. The other two persons named in the complaint were TMC’s former Panihati Municipality chairman, Somnath Dey, and the family’s neighbour, Sanjib Mukherjee.Police said that Ghosh was being brought back to West Bengal by road and is likely to be produced before the Barrackpore court in North 24 Parganas district on Friday.Attending a memorial programme for the victim doctor in Panihati on Jattvibeday, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari had directed the Barrackpore Police Commissioner to launch a fresh probe into the alleged hasty cremation.”The one circumstance related to this case which the CBI is not probing is the hurried cremation of the victim. Documents show that the body, which was third in queue at the crematorium, was advanced to the first spot,” Adhikari had said.”The signatures of the parents were not taken on the relevant documents before the cremation, and even the mandatory cremation fee was waived. I am directing Barrackpore CP to start a fresh case and take appropriate action against the accused,” he had said.Adhikari had said the BJP was voted to power in the state to ensure justice in the case.”Within the limited jurisdiction I have in this case, I am committed to that cause. We have not forgotten Abhaya (the symbolic name accorded to the victim), not forgotten her at all,” he had said.The parents of the victim had earlier alleged that the police did not act upon their complaint, alleging that the cremation was carried out in undue haste under the supervision of the former MLA to prevent the possibility of a second autopsy.Ghosh, the then MLA of Panihati where the victim doctor lived, was seen at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on the evening of August 9, 2024 — the day the body of the intern doctor was discovered. He had also allegedly held a meeting with the medical college’s then principal Sandip Ghosh, who was later arrested, and then seen accompanying the hearse which transported the body to the crematorium.The victim’s father alleged that the accused were also present at his house where the body was first brought and exerted pressure on the family to quickly take it to the crematorium despite their unwillingness to do so.Ghosh’s son Tirthankar was arrested on July 13 over his alleged involvement in post-poll violence and extortion.Tirthankar Ghosh, who was fielded by the TMC from Panihati in place of his father in the assembly elections held earlier this year, lost to BJP nominee Ratna Debnath, the mother of the victim doctor.BJP spokesperson Debjit Sarkar said the present government will ensure that no outside intervention takes place in the investigation.”The Mamata Banerjee-led government had tried to stall the probe and made every attempt to jeopardise it, including preventing names of its party leaders from featuring in the FIRs. That will not happen anymore. Law will take its own course and all those who are behind this crime will face justice,” he said.Dr Asfakulla Naiya, one of the leaders of the junior doctors’ movement which took place in the aftermath of the crime, said the community was still in the dark on the facts of the case.”It’s good that fresh arrests are taking place. But we still do not have any clarity on what happened on the intervening night of August 8-9, 2024, when that horrible crime took place. We have reasons to believe that the real investigation is being inordinately delayed,” he said.Dr Aniket Mahato, another leader of the agitation, questioned why the CBI, which is probing the case, failed to make these arrests before.”Over two years have passed since, and certain facts of the aspects, which were clear as daylight right from the beginning, were overlooked by the agency. It beats us why such arrests are being made only now when they should have taken place long before,” he said.The shocking incident had sparked nationwide protests, including a 42-day strike held by junior doctors of state-run hospitals, demanding a thorough probe into the incident and adequate security on campuses.A 33-year-old civic volunteer, Sanjoy Roy, was convicted of the rape and murder, and sentenced to imprisonment for life.Despite the conviction, the victim’s family has alleged that the larger conspiracy behind the crime remains unresolved, with several individuals allegedly involved in it yet to be brought within the police net.