Coming down heavily on the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government over the vandalism of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, the Calcutta High Court on Friday observed that the mob violence at the State-run hospital was an absolute failure of State machinery.
A division bench presided by Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam directed the police and the hospital authority to file affidavits on the situation at the medical facility.
In the wee hours of Independence Day, miscreants entered RG Kar Medical College and Hospital and vandalised portions of the hospital, when a massive mass movement was taking place to protest against the rape and murder of a junior woman doctor.
The body of the junior doctor was found in the hospital’s seminar room on August 9.
The bench grilled the government on how it did not take steps to prevent the mob violence near the crime scene.
Vandalism
“Police usually have intelligence on these matters.. If 7,000 people gathered, it was hard to believe that State police did not know... Absolute failure of State machinery. A sorry state of affairs, how do you think the doctors would be able to work fearlessly?” Chief Justice Sivagnanam asked.
The bench directed the 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.
Moreover, the bench said the Central Bureau of Investigation has power to visit hospital premises and conduct investigation as it deems fit.
Notably, the Calcutta High Court on August 13 transferred the investigation in the rape and murder of the of the 31-year-old doctor to the CBI.
The Central investigating agency took custody of the prime accused, Sanjay Roy, a Kolkata Police civic volunteer, and started questioning him.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday led a protest rally in Kolkata, demanding death penalty for the guilty in the rape and murder of the woman doctor.
“I salute the protest by the public. They did the right thing,” Banerjee said. She, however, blamed the BJP and CPI-M for the hospital vandalism.
Addressing a press conference, Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goel admitted that during the midnight protest on Wednesday, the police did not expect violence at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
“We didn’t expect the crowd before the hospital to turn violent,” Goel added.