A peaceful protest in Kolkata, organized to condemn the murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Hospital, took a violent turn after unknown individuals forcefully entered the hospital premises. The incident occurred late Thursday night after midnight, as the protest, dubbed ‘Reclaim the Night,’ was underway.
Witnesses described a chaotic scene where the mob, estimated to be between 500 and 1000 people, wreaked havoc. They destroyed critical hospital facilities, including the Emergency Department, Trauma and Gynecology buildings, and even damaged CCTV cameras. The extent of the damage was evident in videos shared by news agency ANI, which showed the utter chaos inside the wards of the government-run hospital.
Several witnesses alleged that the police response was inadequate, allowing the mob to reach the crime scene and potentially destroy evidence. Dr. Mridul Sarkar, a former student of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, recounted the terrifying experience: “The mob destroyed the whole Emergency department. Then, they entered the Trauma and Gyne buildings and threatened the nurses and also doctors. The Police did nothing practically.”
He also criticized the lack of sufficient police presence during the protest, contrasting it with the heavy deployment during previous demonstrations. Anupam Roy, a final year MBBS student, shared a similar experience, stating, “Yesterday we were having a peaceful protest, we had planned to arrange a rally of female nurses, doctors and students. When we were getting ready to start the rally, a huge mob came. We requested them to continue their rally and not try to interfere here as there are female protestors. Then the mob tried to get into our protest, shockingly there used to be a lot of police when protests used to happen but when the mob arrived, there were only a few police personnel present at the spot.”
The security guards at the hospital were also overwhelmed by the mob. Pronoy Das, a security guard, described the situation: “Around 1 am last night when about 500-1000 people came here…We locked the gate here but they broke it down. We went to another gate, but they broke down that too. They were too many, we were 10-12 people and the Police. So we were no match. They barged in and vandalised the property…They have damaged everything – from computers to medicines…They damaged even the CCTV cameras.”
The incident has raised concerns about the safety of medical professionals and the security measures in place at the hospital. Police are currently investigating the incident, searching for those responsible for the violence and destruction.
