KOLKATA: An audio clip of a senior resident of Burdwan Medical College Birupaksha Biswas threatening an intern has gone viral, raising further questions on the affairs of the state-run hospitals in West Bengal.
In the clip, the senior resident can be heard threatening to cancel registration of the intern if he flags issues concerning some doctors in the hospital. In the purported clip, Dr Biswas can be heard telling the intern that he can ruin his career if he opens his mouth. Dr Biswas told the intern that “everybody knows me very well and nobody has got the audacity to complain against me.”
The clip, which has gone viral on social media, was before rape-and-murder of a 31-year-old trainee doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
When contacted, Dr Biswas said, “It is not my audio clip. I have not threatened any student in my college. As I am close to Trinamool Congress, a nexus of doctors is trying to malign my image.”
The intern said that he was surprised to get a call from Dr Biswas as he hadn’t spoken anything against anybody.
Sources in the Indian Medical Association (IMA) said that Dr Biswas is “very powerful and close to Dr Sudipto Roy, an MLA of the ruling party”.
“Dr Biswas takes bribes from medical students and doctors if he helps them in tranfer and posting. He often threatens doctors not to highlight any irregularities. And if they do, then their registration will be cancelled,” sources said.
Dr Biswas was seen in the seminar hall of RG Kar with police officers and others soon after the rape-murder of the trainee doctor on August 9.
Meanwhile, the West Bengal government has decided to move to Supreme Court against the bail granted to Sayan Lahiri, one of the three students who organised the ‘Nabanna Abhiyan’ on Tuesday. Lahiri was granted bail on Saturday by a lower court.
The government on Saturday appointed Manoj Panth as chief secretary in place of BP Gopalika.
Shreya Shosal backs protest, postpones concert
Popular singer Shreya Ghoshal on Saturday announced postponing her concert in Kolkata, stating she was deeply affected by the rape and murder of the doctor at RG Kar. In a post on ‘X’, she said that the concert scheduled on September 14 was highly anticipated but it was absolutely imperative to take a stand and join those protesting in solidarity. “I am deeply affected by the gruesome and heinous incident that recently took place in Kolkata. Being a woman myself, the very thought of the sheer brutality that she must have gone through is unthinkable and sends shivers down my spine,” she said.
At night, drunk civic volunteer hits student
A civic volunteer was arrested for allegedly riding his motorbike into a no-traffic zone and injuring a student of Rabindra Bharati University on Saturday. The students were protesting against the rape-murder of the 31-year-old doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
The incident occurred at 2 am when the drunk civic volunteer entered the no-traffic zone where a night vigil seeking justice for the doctor was on and hit a student. The students of the Rabindra Bharati University had the necessary permission to hold the protest.
Agitating students then blocked BT Road for nearly five hours, alleging that a traffic sergeant helped the civic volunteer escape from the spot.
A senior police officer said the civic volunteer has been arrested and an FIR has been lodged. “Necessary legal steps have been taken,” he said.
Meanwhile, the state government has decided to cancel the licence of civic volunteers who will be found drunk during duty office hours.