The Detective Unit of the Kolkata Police’s Homicide Department took over the investigation into the lift mishap death at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital from the Tala Police Station on Friday evening.
The victim, Arup Banerjee, 41, died Friday morning after getting trapped in lift number 2 of the trauma care unit of the hospital. He had visited the hospital as his minor son was about to undergo surgery at the institute.
Till now, five people – lift operators Milan Kumar Das, Biswanath Das, and Manas Kumar Guha, and security personnel Ashrafal Rahaman and Subhadip Das – have been arrested by the Kolkata Police under Section 105/3(5) (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita in the case. The five accused were produced in Sealdah court on Saturday and have been sent to police custody till March 27.
The police are questioning the absence of lift operators and security personnel at their designated duty spots at the time of the mishap. They have also seized the CCTV footage of the area and the attendance register of the staff, among others, for the probe.
According to a senior official from the state health department, the lifts are maintained by the Public Works Department (PWD) in lieu of an annual maintenance contract.
The official informed that the health department has sought a report from the PWD on the RG Kar lift mishap incident. It has also asked the PWD to submit a report on the condition of all lifts maintained by the department in state-run hospitals.
Meanwhile, the official further informed that the PWD had, in turn, delegated the maintenance of lifts to private companies. The engineers of the company responsible for the maintenance of the lift in question were summoned to the Tala Police Station for questioning.
According to sources, the particular lift had been installed in 2012. Though the lift is 14 years old, there have been no reports of any technical problems lately.
On Friday, the hospital authorities also announced that lifts will no longer operate without an operator.
“Notices will be put up instructing people not to use lifts without an operator,” said Saptarshi Chatterjee, Medical Superintendent, RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.