‘Deploy central forces at RG Kar Hospital’: BJP's Suvendu Adhikari urges Union home secretary

The Kolkata-based institute, where doctors are protesting last week's rape-murder of a junior medic, came under a ‘mob attack’ shortly after midnight.

BJP's Suvendu Adhikari, Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the West Bengal assembly, on Thursday sought deployment of central paramilitary forces at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, following the ‘mob attack’ at the Kolkata-based institute.

Kolkata, India - Aug. 15, 2024: A senior nurse break down in tear after looking the vandalism by unidentified mob at Emergency department in RG Kar Medical College & Hospital shortly after midnight 'Reclaim the Night' protest against rape and murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata, India, on Thursday, August 15, 2024. (Photo by Samir Jana/ Hindustan Times)

In a letter to Union home secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla, he claimed that ‘goons’ sent by the state's Trinamool Congress government, attacked the hospital to ‘destroy’ evidence of last week's rape-murder of a trainee doctor, an incident that has led to protests by the country's medical fraternity.

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“The WB Govt and @KolkataPolice have turned RG Medical College and Hospital into a stinky quagmire by firstly allowing culprits to establish their fiefdom of crime and now allowing TMC goons to stomp upon the whole premises to destroy evidence (whatever was left of it) and scare the protesting Doctors,” Adhikari wrote on X (formerly Twitter) along with a screenshot of his letter.

The former Trinamool member further stated that in a display of ‘perversity,’ the ‘unruly’ mob also tried to enter the girls' hostel at midnight when the policemen ‘took refuge inside the toilets.’

“I have written to the Hon'ble Home Secretary; Ministry of Home Affairs; Shri Ajay Kumar Bhalla and Hon'ble Director, Central Bureau of Investigation regarding the vandalism that took place at R G Kar Medical College and Hospital and requested them to deploy Central Armed Paramilitary Forces to prevent further destruction of evidence at R G Kar,” he added.

The vandalism unfolded shortly after women in Kolkata and other cities of West Bengal, at 11:55pm on Wednesday, the eve of India's 78th Independence Day, held a ‘Reclaim the Night’ protest against the rape-murder of the medic.

On directions of the Calcutta high court, the CBI is probing the case, taking over over from Kolkata Police.