In Brief:
A mob vandalized RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, targeting the seminar room where a doctor’s rape and murder occurred. Hospital staff are protesting, demanding increased security.
Early Thursday, RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata was hit by a violent mob that vandalized property and terrorized staff. Police officers, stationed due to protests over a recent tragic incident involving a trainee doctor, found themselves seeking refuge with the nurses as the crowd overwhelmed them. One nurse reported that the police were significantly outnumbered by the rioters.
The police sought refuge from us, as recounted by the nurse. Two on-duty officers requested, “Please hide us in your ward.” According to her, the mob’s anger was primarily aimed at the seminar room where the trainee doctor was murdered. “Their main objective was to breach the seminar room,” she stated. “They attempted to access the third floor but were unsuccessful. They caused destruction on the second floor, possibly believing that was where the crime took place,” she continued.
The Kolkata Police confirmed that the seminar room remained untouched and intact.
Nurses described a harrowing scene as the mob unleashed chaos, leaving them in a state of trauma. “We descended to the lower levels, gripped by fear. We witnessed both junior and senior nurses in tears due to the assault,” one nurse recounted. “It is possible that another incident of violence occurred yesterday. We all exited the premises in tears. This was a truly horrifying experience for us,” she added.
Another nurse voiced her concerns regarding her safety. “We feel that we could be killed at any moment,” she remarked.
On Thursday morning, hospital staff protested against the vandalism, calling for enhanced security measures. “Such acts of violence within a hospital are intolerable,” stated one nurse.
In response to the unrest, police reported using tear gas to disperse the mob, which resulted in damage to a police vehicle and several motorcycles, with some officers sustaining injuries.
The mob vandalized various areas, including the emergency ward, nursing station, medicine store, and outpatient department, while also destroying CCTV cameras and a stage where junior doctors had been protesting the rape and murder of their colleague.
A civic police volunteer has been apprehended in connection with the doctor’s murder.
Following the chaos of the previous night, additional police forces have been stationed at the hospital, as confirmed by a senior police official.