CISF takes over security at RG Kar; Kolkata police suspends three cops over vandalism at hospital
KOLKATA: A day after the Supreme Court ordered the deployment of CISF at Kar Medical College and Hospital, a team of the central paramilitary force on Wednesday visited the state-run medical establishment and inspected the security arrangements.
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) team led by senior officer K Pratap Singh reached the hospital in the morning.
"Let us do our job. We have come here for some assignment. Let us finish our work, then senior officers will brief you. I am doing my job mandated by higher authorities," NDTV reported him as saying.
According to an official, the central force spoke to the local police and hospital authorities about the security arrangements.
The deployment of CISF came after the Supreme Court on Tuesday came down heavily on the state police for inaction during the vandalization of the hospital by a mob.
"In the aftermath of the brutal incident and the demonstrations which followed, the state government was expected to ensure the deployment of the state machinery to prevent a breach of law and order. It was all the more necessary to do so since investigation of the crime which took place in the precincts of the hospital was underway," the top court said.
"We are unable to comprehend how the state was not prepared to deal with the incident of vandalisation of the premises of the hospital," the court added.
A mob had entered the Kar Medical College and Hospital premises in the early hours of August 15, during a protest march titled "Reclaim the night" against the brutal rape and murder of the doctor trainee. The mob vandalised the emergency department, nursing station, and medicine store, while also damaging CCTV cameras.
The body of a postgraduate trainee doctor, who was allegedly raped and murdered, was found in the seminar room of the hospital on August 9, triggering nationwide outrage.
A civic volunteer was arrested in connection with the case the next day.
.jpg?w=480&auto=format%2Ccompress)
Meanwhile, healthcare services remained affected at state-run hospitals in West Bengal on Wednesday, as junior doctors continued their ceasework for the 13th consecutive day.
Senior doctors have been asked to report for duty in place of the junior medics at several hospitals, even as the state government urged the protestors again to resume work, officials said.
"Our stir will continue until we ensure justice for our sister. We understand that patients are facing problems, but our demands are justified," a junior doctor told PTI.
Junior doctors from various medical colleges and hospitals across the state staged a rally in Kolkata on Wednesday.
Organised by the West Bengal Junior Doctors' Front under the banner "We Want Justice," the rally, joined by several senior doctors, covered around 4km from the CGO Complex to Swasthya Bhavan, the state health department's headquarters. The protesters demanded increased security at their workplaces, the presence of the newly appointed hospital principal, and a swift investigation by the CBI, which has taken over the case from Kolkata Police following a Calcutta High Court order.
The Kolkata Police has suspended three officers, including two assistant police commissioners, over the vandalism at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 15.
(With inputs from PTI)