Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Sept 1: Adding more problems for the West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee already battling groping with the horrific rape and murder of a trainee postgraduate doctor in the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, a number of sex assaults, couple of them in the government-run hospitals were reported from different parts of the state on Sunday.
In two new cases of sexual assault in West Bengal, a hospital staff member in Howrah was arrested for molesting a 14-year-old girl in a CT scan room, while a patient was detained for groping an on-duty nurse at a government-run hospital in Birbhum district. In another incident a minor girl was allegedly sexually assaulted by her cousin in Rajbari village in north 24 Parganas district.
The incident, involving the teenage girl, occurred when she visited Howrah Sadar Hospital for a CT scan. The girl alleged that the technician molested her, prompting her to flee the hospital in distress. In the Birbhum case, an on-duty nurse at a government health centre in Ilambazar was groped by a man. The hospital authorities immediately contacted the police, who arrested the accused on the spot.
In the Howrah case, Narayan Chattopadhyay, Superintendent of Howrah Government Hospital said, “An FIR has been registered at Howrah Police Station and the accused has been arrested. We have asked for an explanation from the private partner who did the CT scan of the victim. We will send it to the higher authority and take action accordingly. The person who has been arrested was an employee of the private-public partner.”
The incident took place late Saturday night and the accused was arrested. According to the hospital authorities, the victim was brought to the hospital for a CT scan after she contracted pneumonia. She was taken to the hospital laboratory where she was allegedly molested by the technician, identified as Aman Raj, a temporary employee.
After coming out of the laboratory, she revealed her ordeal to her family members who immediately brought the matter to the notice of the hospital authorities. The family also protested outside the hospital. The authorities informed the local police station.
According to police, the accused was taken into custody and began interrogating him. The hospital authorities have claimed that while the local police are carrying out their own investigation, the internal complaints committee of the hospital too has started its probe into the matter. Besides probing the incident, the internal committee is also looking into the existing lapses in the security system within the hospital system taking the chance of which the molestation incident took place.
In Birbhum, the accused, who was brought to the health centre for treatment, reportedly touched the nurse inappropriately while she was administering saline. The nurse alleged that the patient molested her while she was attending to him in the emergency department. The accused was accompanied by his family members at the time of the incident.
“The male patient misbehaved with me and touched me inappropriately in my private parts while I was just following the doctor’s instructions. He also hurled verbal abuses at me,” the nurse said, describing her ordeal. “Such incidents occur due to a lack of security. Otherwise, how can a patient dare to do such a thing to someone on duty in the presence of his family members who do nothing to stop him,” she added.
A mob protesting against the sexual abuse of the minor girl vandalised the home of her alleged abuser and his relative’s shop at Madhyamgram in North 24 Parganas. “The accused is a resident of our village. I could not imagine that he could do such a thing. My daughter, who is nine years old, was coming to my shop from home. At that time he assaulted her. I demand exemplary punishment for him,” the girl’s father said. The accused was eventually arrested.
As soon as the alleged sexual assault in the Rajbari area of Rohanda panchayat came to light on Saturday night, locals started protesting in front of the home of the accused. The TMC leader whose alleged interference ignited widespread public anger is the husband of a panchayat member. As the mob also targeted the panchayat member’s home, police and Rapid Action Force personnel were deployed in the area and tear gas was used to disperse the crowd.
These back-to-back sexual violence cases follow a brutal rape-murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata’s RG Kar Hospital. In the wake of the new cases of sexual violence in Bengal, BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya slammed Ms Banerjee, saying that “she has done nothing” to enforce the stringent rules in rapes and POCSO cases.
“Thanks to Mamata Banerjee, West Bengal is the most unsafe State for women. She has done nothing to enforce the stringent rules and establish Fast Track Courts to punishing accused in rapes and POCSO cases. She is an unmitigated disaster as a Chief Minister and must resign,” he added. Taking to X, Bengal BJP leader Agnimitra Paul also rebuked the state government.
Responding to allegations made by the BJP, the West Bengal Police said it believes in “zero tolerance towards offences against women” and warned of “stern legal action” against those spreading misinformation. “Facts are: 1. One patient has been accused of bad touch to a nurse in Ilambazar BPHC and has been arrested. 2. An allegation of sexual assault of a girl by her cousin has been received in Krishnangar PD. Raids are on to arrest the accused. 3. The sole accused has been promptly arrested in an incident of sexual assault in Madhyamgram. The arrestee is not a Panchayat member. 4. A lab technician has been arrested on a complaint of sexual molestation of a girl in Howrah District Hospital,” the police said.
This comes at a time when state-wide protests are on over the horrific rape and murder of a woman doctor at state-run R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata within the hospital premises last month. While the scars of the tragedy are still fresh, the incident at Howrah General Hospital has raised questions over the security arrangements at the state-run hospitals in the state.