Police: Panskura rape accused a repeat offender, held in 2008
Times of India | 19 September 2025Sheikh Zahir Abbas was out on bail when a private facility management agency hired by the East Midnapore hospital assigned him the role of manager two years ago.
Abbas allegedly raped the contractual employee in a storeroom on the premises where he also spent the nights. Hospital superintendent Kaushik Dhal said no room in the compound was earmarked for Abbas to stay.
"The room (where Abbas stayed) was meant to be a temporary storeroom.
Additionally, two rooms were provided for employees to change," said Dhal.
Joining his colleagues in demanding "strict punishment" for Abbas, the superintendent said there were allegations that the accused had exerted pressure on employees.
Several female employees have said Abbas had harassed them but they did not dare lodge a complaint because of his clout resulting from his political connections. Abbas runs a diagnostic centre and a pharmacy near the hospital.
Sources said he also owned eight ambulances and two passenger vehicles that he had rented out to the hospital.
SUCI observed a 12-hour bandh in Panskura on Thursday demanding that the accused be punished at the earliest. Party workers blocked roads from 6am at Station Bazaar, Old Bazaar and Pitpur. The protests led to traffic disruptions. Cops later cleared the blockades.
In the afternoon, women led by the opposition leader in the assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, protested at the hospital with brooms in hand. "The accused facility manager is backed by influential Trinamool leaders," said Adhikari.
