Kolkata's RG Kar Hospital violence: Vandalism victims recall night of horror
Times of India | 17 August 2024
Still from CCTV footage showing the moment the RG Kar main gate was being breached by the mob (right) KOLKATA: On August 14, a night of chaos unfolded at RG Kar Hospital, leaving many individuals deeply traumatised. The incident began when a violent mob stormed the hospital, targeting patients, staff, and property. Nurses, security guards, and even visitors faced unimaginable fear and danger.
We don’t feel safe on night duty any more
I have been in the nursing profession since 2019 but never have I experienced a night like the one we spent on Aug 14.Top Picks For YouKolkata doctor rape-murder: Post-mortem report highlights brutal assault, confirms multiple injuries, signs of struggleKolkata doctor death: Who is Sanjay Roy? Civic volunteer arrested in RG Kar Hospital rape-murder caseI have faced many adversities, including the trying times of Covid when we saw many of our colleagues die while serving patients but Aug 14 was the first time I was afraid of my life.
I was looking after eight patients on the sixth floor Trauma ward when I heard commotion outside. I looked through the window and saw a mob entering our hospital and an even larger mob vandalizing whatever they could lay their hands on.
A senior nurse called me to secure the ward and ensure patients were safe. Over the next few minutes, we locked the ward from inside, switched off the lights and carried some expensive machines to an upper floor and secured them.
The patients started realizing something was wrong but we tried to calm them down. We assured them that no matter what happened, we would not leave them and go. As we patiently waited inside the ward, hoping the mob wouldn’t run up to our ward, we could hear my colleagues on the lower floors running for safety. Some policemen came up and hid under patient's bed linen to escape the mob.
The vandalism continued for 40 minutes but each minute was like an hour. Two days have passed but I still can't get over the trauma we experienced that day. We are still serving patients and many of us are on night duty but we cant feel safe anymore.
(Suchismita Majumder, a nurse at RG Kar Hospital )
Such attacks can’t throttle our voice
On Aug 14 night, we had planned that a group of female doctors and students from the hospital would march till Shyambazar to join the “reclaim the night”. They were about to leave when a large mob gathered outside the hospital. Cops failed to stop them and soon, most of them — all of them armed with sticks and rods — were inside.
We ran for our life, so did some cops. They even started attacking patients’ families and many of them were hurt.
They targeted protesting doctors and several of us were injured. We somehow ran for cover after an initial attempt to stop them. They attacked everyone who came in front of them. The stage, chairs and fans were vandalized. The attackers even infiltrated to different wards and the ladies' hostel, causing significant destruction.
Hasaan Mushtaq
We all scattered and began hiding in various locations, making communication difficult. There were reports that another mob of approximately 3,000 individuals were approaching our hospital. It was scary.
The police failed to provide any sort of assistance, with officers running for their life. If they can’t protect themselves, how can we even expect them to protect us? But all we want to say is that despite such attempts to crush our movement, we will not stop.
(Hasaan Mushtaq, a third-year PGT doctor)
Switched off lights to confuse attackers
I was on duty in front of the emergency building lift gate since Tuesday afternoon and the incident happened so fast that I did not have much time to read the situation. The gate was just adjacent to the emergency ward entry gate.
Usually, both of these gates are kept open 24x7 and I almost instantly noticed the agitating junior doctors, traumatised nurses and house staff rushing towards my gate for safety. They were being chased by a few dozens of attacks. They destroyed everything while approaching us.
With the help of Proloy Das, another security guard on duty, I managed to stop a few of the miscreants. But it was gradually becoming impossible to stop them as more people barged in. I managed to lock the entry gate but some goons started trying to break it.
Ananta Chandra Mondal
I tried to keep my head cool as much as I could. I underwent safety training during my initial years in the profession in Delhi and that finally paid off that night. I switched off all the lights on the ground floor of the lift entry gate. The move puzzled the miscreants and turned to other parts of the campus. We could manage to avert major ransacking on the other floors of the buildings where the burn unit, ENT and orthopaedic department are located. The lives of many patients, who were admitted, were also at risk.
(Ananta Chandra Mondal, a private security guard at RG Kar)
Caught in violence, never felt so helpless
Aug 14 was a horrific night that I will remember forever. My 15-month-old son was ill and his breathing issue was worsening from 11pm that night. The local hospital prescribed Levolin respules to use with nebulizer. I left home around midnight from our B K Paul home with my husband Abhijit to fetch the medicine. We rushed towards R G Kar, not aware of the situation there. We knew that there is a medicine shop just opposite the hospital that stays open through the night. Reaching there, both of us got trapped in between the violent mobs and the cops. Almost instantly, we inhaled tear gas and within a few minutes, cops nabbed Abhijit along with some violent protesters around 12:55 am.
Debasmita Paul
I was so traumatised that I couldn’t decide what to do. An hour later, I came to know that Abhijit was detained and kept in a parked prison van in front of RG Kar hospital. Also, I came to know that my son’s health was deteriorating. I never found myself so helpless. I decided not to return home alone.
Around 2:25 am, I managed to track the prison van with the help of TOI. I approached CP Vineet Kumar Goyal and narrated my ordeal. He understood my situation and instructed his officers to verify my claims before releasing Abhijit. Finally, he was released around 2:45 am.
Both of us returned home after collecting the medicine. The health condition of my son Debangshu, who took birth at RG Kar hospital in May last year, is stable now.