There was mayhem at Kolkata's R G Kar Medical College and Hospital on Wednesday midnight, as a mob of nearly 1,000 unidentified persons attacked the dais on which doctors were protesting, forcibly entered the hospital by breaking the gates and vandalised both the male and female emergency wards, emergency CCU and observation wing. They destroyed costly machines, medicine stocks, computers and cctv cameras. They also ransacked doctors' changing room and police barracks. The violent mob also set fire to police vehicles. This sudden attack took place even as a huge crowd had gathered at night to join in a solidarity protest with the agitating doctors. Several protesters toppled police barricades set outside the hospital, and police had to fire tear gas shells and resort to lathicharge. Later, Kolkata Police commissioner Vineet Goyal accused the media of "running an incorrect, motivated and malicious campaign against the police". The police chief claimed that his force was not trying to "save any person". Trinamool Congress leader and Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee demanded that police must bring to book all those responsible for the midnight attack within 24 hours, "regardless of which party they belonged to".
BJP's Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari alleged that there were "Trinamool goons" among the mob that vandalized the hospital. Adhikari wrote on social media: "Mamata Banerjee has sent her TMC goons to the apolitical protest rally near R G Kar Medical College and Hospital. She thinks that she is the most shrewd person in the whole world and people won't be able to figure out the cunnig plan that her goons appears as protesters would mix with the crowd and carry out vandalism inside the hospital. They were given safe passage by the police, who either ran away or looked the other way, so that these lumpens would enter the hospital premises and destroy areas containing crucial evidence so that it doesn't get picked up by CBI. As they were dumb TMC hooligans, they couldn't execute the plan well and revealed their identity when they vandalised the Dharna Manch of the Resident Doctors, PGTs and interns. Why would someone who has come to show solidary would destroy the epicentre of the protests? Lastly, the protests happened peacefully across the sate. Why violence erupted at RG Kar only?" The brutal rape-murder of the PG resident doctor that took place on August 9 has now become a major political controversy in West Bengal, with Trinamool Congress MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy alleging that police was trying to cover-up by fudging records and evidence. Questions are being raised why the state government took no action against the medical college principal Dr Sandip Ghosh and transferred him to another college. Questions are also being raised why police did not question the college principal and brought its dog squad to the crime spot three days after the incident. Already, doctors, having access to the autopsy report, have alleged that this brutal act was in fact a gang rape, and there was involvement of others apart from Sanjay Roy, arrested by police till now. After the High Court intervened and ordered a CBI probe, investigators have taken the accused into custody and are now collecting evidence. Protesting doctors say that it could be difficult for the CBI to nail the perpetrators because already many of the crucial evidence have been destroyed in connivance with the college principal.
Questions are being raised as to who is trying to shield the principal. Doctors are demanding immediate arrest of the principal Dr Sandip Ghosh. The college principal, by profession an orthopaedic, has a questionable track record and there are reports that he has "political connections". He was transferred twice after vigilance probe into corruption charges, but was again reverted to his original post. The corruption charges range from sale of bio-medical waste, car parking contracts and other tenders. One of the doctors Dr Akhtar Ali alleged that 20 per cent commission racket was going on in R G Kar Hospital. BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari has demanded the arrest of Dr Sandip Ghosh and all those officials who destroyed crucial evidence. State BJP chief and Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar alleged that Dr Sandip Ghosh had powerful connections with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and he was being shielded in this case. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday tweeted: "The entire nation is shocked over the gruesome rape and murder of a junior doctor in Kolkata. As details of this cruel and inhuman act are being unravelled, a sense of insecurity has gripped the medical fraternity and working women. Instead of ensuring justice to the victim, efforts are being made to shield the accused, and these raise serious questions about the hospital and local administration." In response, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee appealed to all parties not to politicize this crime. She told a meeting that she immediately phoned Kolkata Police chief when she came to know about the murder and directed him to arrest the culprits. She claimed that one of the accused was arrested within 12 hours, but "in cases like this, probe takes time". She said, she had given police time to complete its probe by Sunday, but by that time the High Court had handed over the probe to CBI. "I want CBI to complete its probe by Sunday and hang the culprits responsible for the doctor's murder", she said. Whatever Mamata Baneree might say, it is strange that the medical college principal has not been questioned till date. Instead of removing the principal, he was transferred to another medical college in Kolkata. The question is: Who are the people trying to shield Dr Sandip Ghosh? Is someone in the higher echelons very much obliged to Dr Sandip Ghosh? Does he know mysterious facts that he could spill out? Normally, nobody in Mamata Banerjee's party has the courage to raise voice against her leadership, and yet a veteran leader like Sukhendu Sekhar Roy raised his voice.
While revealing gruesome details about the doctor's murder from the autopsy report in my 'Aaj Ki Baat' show, I felt a deep sense of unease. My heart cries out for the parents who are missing their daughter. This case is serious and there must be no politics. Nor should anybody try to shield the culprits. It is now time for all right-thinking people to ponder over what measures to take so that such inhuman and gruesome act never takes place in future.
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