Amid widespread outrage against the West Bengal government's handling of the alleged rape and murder of a doctor trainee at the RG Kar Hospital in Kolkata, disturbing incidents of violence against women have again surfaced from the state.
A minor was reportedly sexually assaulted in the North 24 Parganas district of the state while a nurse on duty was molested by a patient at a health centre in Birbhum district.
As soon as the news of the sexual abuse of the minor came to light on Saturday night, locals started protesting outside the house of the abuser in the Rajbari area of Rohanda panchayat, with an angry mob vandalising his house and a shop belonging to his relative at Madhyamgram in North 24 Parganas.
The accused was later arrested.
In another incident, a contractual laboratory technician was arrested in Howrah district after allegedly molesting a 13-year-old girl within the Howrah Sadar Hospital premises. The incident took place on Saturday night at around 10 pm when the girl, receiving treatment for pneumonia at the hospital, was taken for a CT scan.
According to the victim’s family, she came running out of the department crying and seeking help from another patient’s relative.
The accused was identified as Aman Raj, a temporary employee. After coming out from the scanner room, the victim narrated the incident to her parents who then immediately brought the matter to the notice of the hospital authorities. The authorities informed the police.
The news of the incident spread quickly. Locals and the victim’s kin gathered at the hospital to protest and even allegedly attempted to assault the accused. The police rescued the accused and arrested him based on the complaint lodged by the victim’s family.
Further escalating the outrage against the state government, a TMC leader, who is also the husband of a panchayat member, reportedly asked the victim's family to "settle the matter." This led the angry mob to target the panchayat member's home. Following this, police and Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel were deployed in the area and tear gas was used to disperse the crowd.
However, the panchayat member's family alleged that the protest was carried out by the CPM workers.
In another incident, a nurse was molested by a patient while on duty at the emergency department of the Ilambazar centre in the Birbhum district. The accused allegedly touched the nurse inappropriately and hurled verbal abuses at her, while she was attending to him in the emergency department. The accused was accompanied by his family members, who refused to intervene while he engaged in the act.
"The male patient misbehaved with me and touched me inappropriately in my private parts while I was just following the doctor's instructions. He also hurled verbal abuses at me," NDTV reported the nurse as saying.
"Such incidents occur due to a lack of security. Otherwise, how can a patient dare to do such a thing to someone on duty in the presence of his family members who do nothing to stop him," the nurse added.
The accused patient was later taken into custody after the hospital authorities informed the police.