Observing that the mob violence in R G Kar Medical College and Hospital was an absolute failure of state machinery, the Calcutta High Court on Friday directed the police and the hospital authority to file affidavits on the situation there.
A division bench presided by Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam said it was hard to believe that the police intelligence did not have information about the gathering of 7,000 people, when the state's lawyer told the court that a mob of such a number had assembled at the hospital in the early hours of Thursday.
After knowing that there was some renovation work on one floor of the hospital after the body of a woman doctor, who was allegedly raped and murdered, was found, the Chief Justice said the court can order closing down the medical establishment.
The bench directed the police and the administrator of the hospital to file separate affidavits narrating the 'true state of affairs' at the hospital and all connected matters on Aug. 21 when the matter will be heard again.
The court, also comprising Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya, said that the police should place on record the entire sequence of events that led to the vandalism in the hospital.
A group of people, posing as protesters, entered the hospital and vandalised the emergency department, nursing station, and medicine store, while also damaging CCTV cameras.
The mob also ransacked a stage where junior doctors had been demonstrating since Aug. 9. The body of a woman post-graduate trainee, who was allegedly raped and murdered, was found in the seminar hall of the RG Kar Hospital on that day.
The CBI was also directed by the court to file an interim report about the progress of its investigation into 'rape and murder' of the medic, which led to a cease-work by junior doctors in different government hospitals in the state demanding exemplary punishment to the culprits and security at the workplace.
Stating that the bench had on Aug. 13 urged the doctors to consider returning to work reminding them of their 'pious obligation' towards the patients, the court said that the incident of vandalism and violence at the hospital on Aug. 15 would definitely have an impact on the mindset of the protesting doctors.
The court said that the doctors working in the hospital have to be given adequate protection, or else they will not be able to discharge their duties.
The Additional solicitor general, appearing for the CBI, stated that a special team set up to probe into the rape and murder case is proceeding with the matter.
He also submitted a copy of the FIR lodged by the CBI following the court's order transferring the investigation to it from the Kolkata Police.
The bench wondered what would happen if a similar incident happened in any other facility in West Bengal.
"If the police are injured, they are unable to control the mob, then the law-and-order situation has failed," the court said.
Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari's counsel claimed that the attack in the hospital was pre-planned, and people were brought in lorries, in a bid to destroy the place of occurrence of the crime.
The Chief Justice said that there is always an intelligence wing of the police and it should have had information about a huge mob gathering there.
"If 7000 people are to gather, it is very hard to believe that the state police intelligence did not know," the court said.
The court said that it was 'an absolute failure of state machinery.' The court observed that it was a 'sorry state of affairs' if the police force could not protect their own men.
Appearing for one of the petitioners, senior advocate Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya told the court that a portion of the fourth floor, where the seminar hall in which the crime was committed is situated, was demolished on August 13 evening and only after doctors and students protested, the demolition work was stopped.
The state counsel submitted that the place of occurrence of the crime was secure and that renovation work was being carried out by the PWD.
He stated that there was a long-standing demand for a restroom for doctors and the work for that was being done.
Questioning the urgency for doing the renovation work now, an irked CJ said in exasperation that the court can order closing down the hospital and shift the patients to other government facilities.
"We will convince the patient party to cooperate, shift everybody and close the hospital," he said during the submissions by different parties in the matter.
The court said that it needs to be ascertained what is the reason for the vandalism in the hospital, stating that there is a gross difference between a 35 or 70-strong mob and 7,000 people.
Bhattacharya, appearing for the parents of the victim, claimed that only about 40 to 80 miscreants had indulged in the vandalism in the hospital.
The court said that it does not think such things have occurred in any other part of the country.
The bench said that the law prohibits the disclosure of the identity of such victims and requested persons known to the victim and the media not to circulate the photograph of the victim as well as the name and other identity.
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