12 Kolkata: The blood-stained gloves at RG Medical College and Hospital and the broken, rusted scissors at SSKM Hospital might have been "planted", suggested officials investigating the allegations, hinting at a conspiracy to malign the state health services.
"The gloves and scissors seem to have been planted. We are aggressively looking into it. In a huge state-run medical setup, such lapses may be found and they need to be properly looked into," a senior health department official said.
RG Kar official on Wednesday stated that the gloves in question were not ordered by them. On Oct 10, a junior doctor at RG Kar had allegedly found blood-stained gloves in sealed boxes. About 20 days later, an initial inquiry by the hospital authorities, revealed the gloves were tested in the biochemistry laboratory and that the stains were not of blood but of a chemical. This finding raised questions about how those gloves with red stains came into the hospital. An officer close to the probe questioned whether the junior doctor, who made the allegation, brought the gloves from outside and put the red liquid or chemical on them to create a sensation. The hospital superintendent said an investigation was underway to find how the gloves landed there and who had assisted in the "sabotage" attempt.
Another allegation of a pair of rusted, broken scissors cropped up at SSKM Hospital. According to sources, when the investigation began, the scissors in question were not found. Senior health officials have been to SSKM to find the broken scissors and also questioned several officials, including the junior doctor, who had levelled the allegation. Health department officials suspect the scissors were planted for sabotage.