Nurses at the hospital protested the vandalism and demanded proper security on the premises. (Photo: PTI)
Nurses protested against vandalism at the government-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on Thursday morning, hours after unidentified criminals ransacked a part of the medical facility and a woman doctor was found dead last week.
The vandalism took place during midnight protests by women in different parts of the state against the alleged rape and murder of the doctor in the seminar hall of the hospital.
Nurses at the hospital protested the vandalism and demanded that there be proper security on the premises.
“Such hooliganism in a hospital is unacceptable,” said one of the protesting nurses.
According to the police, around 40 people disguised as protesters entered the hospital premises, vandalized property and pelted the police personnel with stones, prompting the police to use tear gas canisters to disperse the crowd.
The thugs, using sticks, stones and rods, vandalised the emergency room, the nursing post and the dispensary, as well as a part of the outpatient department of the hospital in North Kolkata, police said.
Vandals have destroyed several security cameras in and around the area and looted a stage where the young doctors had been demonstrating since the evening of August 9, after the doctor died.
A police vehicle overturned and several parked two-wheelers were damaged in the incident. Several police officers were injured.
Hospital staff began cleaning up the damaged emergency room, destroying vital medical equipment and furniture.
“The hoodlums entered the campus and beat up the protesting doctors. This was an attempt to break our morale so that we would withdraw from the protest. But such incidents have only made us stronger to fight till the end,” said one of the protesting doctors.
He claimed the vandalism occurred while police personnel were present.
The police station in the hospital was also looted.
After visiting the area after the incident, Kolkata police chief Vineet Goyal said, “We are investigating the matter.”
He also claimed that a “malicious media campaign” was making the situation worse.
“What haven’t the police done to solve this case? But there has been a malicious media campaign going on,” he said.
A senior police official said in the morning that they have deployed extra personnel outside the hospital.
A junior doctor was reportedly raped and brutally murdered while on duty at the hospital on August 9.
The next day, a civilian volunteer was arrested in connection with the crime.
On August 13, the Calcutta High Court ordered that the investigation into the crime be immediately transferred from the Kolkata Police to the CBI.
(Only the headline and image of this report may have been edited by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
First publication: Aug 15, 2024 | 10:13 AM IST