Calcutta High Court raps police for hospital vandalism; CBI intensifies doctor murder probe

Kolkata/New Delhi, August 16

The Calcutta High Court on Friday described the vandalism at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital as an "absolute failure of state machinery", while the doctor's parents told the CBI that a few interns and physicians of the reputed medical facility were allegedly involved in her rape and murder.

Kolkata Police have arrested 25 people for their alleged involvement in the early morning vandalism on August 15, with Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal admitting that, despite adequate security, they were unprepared for the violence and were caught off-guard.

The High Court's division bench led by Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam expressed disbelief that police intelligence failed to detect the gathering of nearly 7,000 people at the hospital in the early hours of Independence Day.

"It's hard to believe that police intelligence did not have information about a mob of such magnitude assembling at the hospital," Chief Justice Sivagnanam remarked.

Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who led a 2-km long protest march in Kolkata demanding justice for the woman doctor, accused the opposition CPI(M) and the BJP of orchestrating vandalism at the hospital and spreading fake news on social media to obscure the truth behind the doctor's killing.

The doctor, whose body was found on August 9, was allegedly raped and murdered while on duty. A civic volunteer was arrested the following day in connection with the crime. The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday ordered the CBI to probe the crime.

Health care services in the state have remained crippled for eight consecutive days in a row due to the cease-work by junior doctors demanding justice for their colleague, with emergency and outpatient departments in most state-run hospitals still closed, causing significant distress among patients.

After learning about renovation work on one floor of the hospital where the body of the woman doctor was found, the Chief Justice said the court could order the closure of the medical establishment.

The bench directed police and the administrator of the hospital to file separate affidavits narrating the "true state of affairs" at the hospital and all connected matters on August 21 when the matter will be heard again.

The court, also comprising Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya, said police should place on record the entire sequence of events that led to the vandalism at the hospital.

The violence involved the destruction of the emergency department, nursing station, and medicine store, damage to CCTV cameras, and the ransacking of a stage where junior doctors had been protesting.

The death of the doctor triggered a cease-work by junior doctors across various government hospitals demanding justice and enhanced security.

The court said the doctors working in the hospital have to be given adequate protection, or else they will not be able to discharge their duties.

"If police are injured, they are unable to control the mob, then the law and order situation has failed," the court said.

The court observed that it was a "sorry state of affairs" if police force could not protect their own men.

Meanwhile, the CBI has intensified its probe into the alleged rape and murder of the woman doctor, following information from her parents that several interns and physicians from hospital may be involved in the crime.

The CBI has also conducted a reconstruction of the crime scene with the accused and the probe is focusing on at least 30 people whose names have been provided by the victim's family.

Reiterating her demand for capital punishment for the culprits involved in the crime, CM Banerjee urged the CBI to resolve the case by Sunday and demanded that the culprits be hanged.

"We want the truth to come out, but some quarters are spreading lies to mislead people. Attempts are being made to hide the truth by circulating fake news on social media. We condemn these activities. We want the culprits to be punished," she said while addressing a rally.

She claimed that the connection between the Left and the BJP needs to be revealed, accusing the "CPI (M) and BJP of orchestrating the vandalism at the hospital to obliterate evidence of the horrific crime".

The BJP staged rallies and sit-ins across West Bengal, demanding the resignation of Mamata Banerjee.

The Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) also joined the protests, organising a 12-hour general strike, which did not yield much response.