Negative media campaign led to R.G Kar hospital ransacking: Kolkata Police chief
Kolkata: After the emergency department of the state-run R.G Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata was ransacked by a violent mob few minutes after Wednesday midnight, the Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Kumar Goyal said that “continuous negative media propaganda over the brutal rape and murder of a woman junior doctor last week” as the main reason which led to the vandalism of the hospital.
After reaching the spot at around 2 a.m. on Thursday, more than an hour after the vandalism took place at the hospital, the Police Commissioner told the media: “This is the impact of continuous and negative media campaigns that have shown the city police in a bad light. In addition, there had been social media campaigns. Now the responsibility of the investigation of the case is with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Let them investigate the matter now.”
Meanwhile, the Leader of the Opposition (LOP) and BJP leader, Suvendu Adhikari, has issued a statement that “West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had sent her goons to the apolitical protest rally by women near R.G. 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 R.G Kar Medical College and Hospital. They were given safe passage by the police, who either ran away or looked the other way so that these ‘goons’ would enter the hospital premises and destroy areas containing crucial evidence so that it doesn’t get picked up by the CBI,” LoP Adhikari said in a statement.
Trinamool Congress General Secretary and party Lok Sabha MP, Abhishek Banerjee, has also issued a statement saying that he had spoken to the Police Commissioner “urging 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”.
Fresh tension broke out at the R.G Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, where a junior doctor was brutally raped and murder last week, minutes after midnight after a group of miscreants barged into the hospital premises and ransacked the emergency department.
The incident was reported soon after scores of people led by women took to the streets of Kolkata following the call of ‘Meyera, Raat Dakhal Karo’ (girls, reclaim the night), demanding justice for the junior doctor.
Eyewitnesses said the police posted at the hospital premises remained mute spectators as the group of miscreants ransacked the emergency department.
The group of youth were heard claiming that their protest was against the denial of treatment to patients following the ‘cease work’ call given at the hospital.
The violent mob also reportedly attacked mediapersons present at the hospital, damaging their cameras.
The dais of those participating in the ‘Midnight Protest March’ outside the hospital premises was also vandalised.