Vandalism at Kolkata hospital as midnight protest turns violent

Unidentified miscreants entered the premises of state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata shortly after midnight on Thursday and vandalised portions of the medical facility, where the body of a woman doctor was found last week, police said.

The incident took place amid midnight protests by women against the horrific rape-murder of the doctor at the hospital.

According to the police, a group of nearly 40 people, allegedly disguised as protestors, entered the hospital premises, vandalised property and pelted stones at police personnel prompting them to fire teargas to disperse the mob.

A police vehicle and a few two-wheelers at the spot were also damaged in the incident, they said.

Some police officers were injured in the violence, an officer said.

“We have an adequate number of personnel posted outside the hospital, and they have been instructed to tackle the situation accordingly,” a senior officer of Kolkata Police told PTI.

Spurred by the 'Reclaim the Night' campaign, which gained momentum through social media, the protests began at 11.55 pm, aligning with Independence Day celebrations, and spread across key areas in both small towns and big cities, including several landmarks in Kolkata.

Later, Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal reached the spot at around 2 am.

Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress general secretary and MP Abhishek Banerjee said that he spoke to Goyal and urged him to "ensure that every individual responsible for today's violence is identified, held accountable, and made to face the law within the next 24 hours, regardless of their political affiliations".

"The hooliganism and vandalism at RG Kar tonight have exceeded all acceptable limits. As a public representative, I just spoke with CPKolkata," he said in a post on X.

"The demands of the protesting doctors are fair and justified. This is the minimum they should expect from the government. Their safety and security must be prioritised," Banerjee said.

BJP leader and leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari alleged that the vandalism was carried out by "TMC goons" sent by party supremo Mamata Banerjee.

"Mamata Banerjee has sent her TMC goons to the apolitical Protest Rally near RG 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 cunning plan that her goons appearing as protestors would mix with the crowd and carry out vandalism inside the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital," Adhikari said in a post on X.

Adhikari also alleged that the miscreants were given safe passage by the police.

"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 the CBI," he alleged in the post.

A postgraduate trainee doctor was raped and murdered at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata while on duty last week.

The semi-naked body of the 32-year-old woman was found on August 9 morning in the seminar hall of the government-run hospital in the West Bengal capital.

A civic volunteer has been arrested in connection with the crime.

The Calcutta high court on Tuesday ordered the transfer of the probe into the case from the Kolkata Police to the Central Bureau of Investigation.