“The cops ran away faster than us on seeing the mob" — This is how doctors at RG Kar Hospital in Kolkata, who have been protesting against the brutal rape and murder of their colleague on the premises, described the inefficiency of the police in handling the mob that vandalised the hospital on August 14.
The incident occurred during the ‘Reclaim The Night’ protest by women when unidentified miscreants forcibly entered the premises of the state-run medical college shortly after midnight on Thursday, and carried out vandalism.
The mob destroyed the emergency wing of the hospital, damaged the police outpost, and vandalised their cars, injuring 15 police personnel, many of whom are hospitalised.
Speaking to News18, Dr Pritam Sardar said: “We really don’t know what the police did on Thursday. When the miscreants attacked us, they ran faster than us to take cover instead of protecting us."
Another student told News18 that when they requested the police to lathicharge the miscreants, they were told that the police did not have orders for the same.
Even though the commissioner of police stayed the night at RG Kar, students said they were dissatisfied with the lack of action taken against the mob.
So far, police have arrested 19 people for vandalism and also posted photos of the mob on social media sites, seeking help in identifying the miscreants.
However, there seems to be a lacuna here too as one of the junior doctors told News18 that he had been wrongly identified as part of the mob.
Junior intern Dr Anubhab said: “Only police can answer why they circulated my name as I was on the dharna stage which was broken by the mob. They should protect us but instead they are releasing my photo."
The doctor fraternity also questioned if there were lapses in police deployment at RG Kar, given the sensitivity of the case as well as the sheer size of the mob. They also pointed fingers at a possible Intel lapse, saying it was difficult to believe that police had no prior information of such a law and order breakdown.
Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, meanwhile, blamed “outsiders" for the violence, saying police followed all protocols.
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