RG Kar hospital vandalism: Mamata Banerjee blames opposition parties

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday, 15 August, accused opposition parties of being behind the vandalism at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata.

Banerjee said she does not hold the students or doctors responsible for their protests and instead, she accused certain political parties of attempting to incite trouble.

"Police are looking into the matter. I don't have any complaints against students or agitating doctors. But there are certain political parties which are trying to foment trouble. If you go through the video, you will get to see what happened," she said.

Around midnight, a group of around 40 people, posing as protesters, entered the hospital, vandalising the emergency department, nursing station, and medicine store, while also damaging CCTV cameras and ransacking a stage where junior doctors had been demonstrating since 9 August protesting the alleged rape and murder of a woman postgraduate trainee there and demanding security at their workplace.

"Two hospital floors have been destroyed, medicines looted and infrastructure and equipment severely damaged," she said, adding that it will take a lot of time and money to rebuild it.

On the vandalism, Banerjee said, "Some outsiders who are political elements and want to foment trouble in Bengal - the Left and the BJP - have together unleashed this."

Speaking outside the Raj Bhavan, where she went to join the customary high tea on the occasion of Independence Day, Banerjee said the state government will provide all assistance to the CBI, which has been entrusted with the investigation into the alleged rape and murder of the woman doctor.

The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday ordered the transfer of the case probe from Kolkata Police to the CBI, citing a lack of significant progress in the city police's investigation. "We have provided all the documents (related to the case) to the CBI," she said.

Maintaining that the crime on the woman doctor was very unfortunate and the whole country sympathises with the family, she said, "sometimes one or two incidents happen. It is a social curse," she said.

Pointing to the high court order where the agitating doctors were requested to rejoin work, Banerjee said she has also urged them to do so on several occasions.

Junior doctors in several government hospitals in the state have gone on a cease-work protesting the gruesome murder of their colleague and demanding security at the workplace.

"I have learnt that some patients have died due to lack of treatment. Some junior doctors and senior professors are, however, providing service in the emergencies and OPDs," she said.

Banerjee said several policemen, including a deputy commissioner of police, were injured in the attack in the hospital.

"It was, however, good that police showed restraint and did not use force," she said.

Asked about a 12-hour general strike call by the SUCI (Communist) in the state on Friday, she said that her government does not support any bandh.

"I urge everyone to keep their establishments open," she said.