West Bengal Police have arrested nine persons in connection with the vandalism at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College Hospital where a junior doctor was raped and murdered last week sparking widespread outrage.
According to reporters, around 40 people, posing as protesters entered the hospital on Wednesday midnight and vandalised the emergency department, nursing station, and medicine store. They also ransacked a stage where junior doctors have been demonstrating since August 9.
Police had to resort to lathicharge and fire teargas to disperse the protesters. At least 15 cops were injured in the incident.
The arrests were announced hours after the Kolkata Police released photos of the suspects and shared them on social media. The identities of those arrested have, however, not yet been revealed.
A political blame game began over the incident with the opposition BJP attacking the state government for failing to protect the protesting doctors. The saffron party also demanded that Army be deployed if the TMC government cannot control the situation.
The 31-year-old junior doctor was raped and murdered while on duty and her body was discovered at the seminar hall on August 9. A civic volunteer was arrested in the following day.
The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday ordered a CBI probe into the case, saying no significant progress had been made in the investigation by the Kolkata Police.
Following the HC order, the central agency formed three teams to probe the case and filed an FIR under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Healthcare services in West Bengal remain crippled for seven days in a row due to the cease-work by junior doctors demanding justice for their colleague. The emergency and outpatient departments in most state-run hospitals are still closed, causing significant distress among patients.
