Protests erupt on assaults at two hospitals in West Bengal

Two separate incidents of alleged molestation in West Bengal hospitals emerged on Sunday, leading to renewed public outrage amid protests over the brutal killing of a junior doctor in the Capital last month.
On Saturday night, a 13-year-old girl and a nurse were reportedly assaulted in separate incidents at medical facilities in Howrah and Birbhum districts, police officials said on Sunday.
The incidents were reported even as hundreds gathered for protests in the state capital Kolkata, while the ruling Trinamool Congress and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party too held their own demonstrations, with each trying to build pressure on the others.
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“I want justice for my sisters,” proclaimed a large banner carried by a protest of citizens who held a march starting from College Square in Kolkata.
In Birbhum, a nurse at Illambazar block hospital was allegedly molested and verbally abused by a male patient on Saturday night. In Howrah, a laboratory technician was arrested for allegedly molesting a minor girl at the district headquarters hospital, where the 12-year-old had been admitted last week and was to undergo a CT scan when she was attacked.
Members of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), the youth wing of the CPI(M), demonstrated at the block hospital on Sunday, demanding the resignation of its superintendent.
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At Howrah district hospital, the father of the molestation victim said: “The man in the room did not allow me to accompany my daughter. He did not allow me to sit outside either. My daughter came out crying and said he misbehaved with her and molested her”, the victim’s mother told reporters at the hospital.
Dr Narayan Chatterjee, the hospital superintendent, condemned the incident, stating, “This is a heinous crime. The question of compromising with security of women does not arise. We will intensify security”.
In a separate the Ilambazar primary health centre in Birbhum district, a patient was arrested for allegedly molesting a nurse as she administered an injection.
These assaults have prompted renewed calls for improved security measures in health care facilities. “How can we work on night shifts if there is no security? The administration must take action immediately,” said Arpita Banerjee, a nurse at the Ilambazar centre, during a staff protest on Sunday.
The incidents further fuelled political tensions, with opposition parties intensifying their demands for chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s resignation.
Sukanta Majumdar, president of the Bengal unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party, said at a public meeting, “We are witnessing multiple incidents of molestation and rape in West Bengal every day. The RG Kar Hospital incident cannot be seen in isolation. The chief minister must accept her responsibility and step down”.
The Trinamool Congress, with its administration having been criticised for the handling of law and order and the response to the protests, held its own protest, demanding the Central Bureau of Investigation that has now taken over the probe build a strong case and the federal agency ensures “the rapist is hanged.”
“On 28th August, our leader (Mamata Banerjee) had given directions to Trinamool Mahila Congress to stage a demonstration on 1st September in every block. CBI has not said a word about investigation so far, our demand is for them to tell us about the progress of the investigation and build such a case that the rapist is hanged,” said Chandrima Bhattacharya, Trinamool leader, according to news agency ANI.
The ongoing protests, sparked by the death of a 31-year-old doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9, have seen an unprecedented surge in public participation. On Sunday, thousands marched through Kolkata, including prominent figures from the Bengali film industry.
Filmmaker Aparna Sen, participating in a rally for the second time since August 9, criticised the political response to the crisis. “Common people have the right to demand answers. The anguish comes from the bottom of their heart. I decry the role of all political parties in the RG Kar Hospital incident. Nobody seems to be bothered about the victim”, she told the media.