Kolkata rape, murder case: Mob storm RG Kar where doctor was raped, vandalise property; stones pelted, tear gas fired

An unidentified mob of dozens stormed the premises of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, where a resident doctor was allegedly gang-raped and murdered, shortly after midnight on Thursday, August 15 and vandalised portions of the medical facility. The mob also pelted stones at the police personnel deployed at the RG Kar hospital, prompting them to fire tear-gas shells to disperse the crowd.

According to the police, a group of around 40 people, reportedly posing as protestors, stormed the premises, vandalised property and hurled stones at police officers. In response to this, the police were forced to use tear gas to disperse the crowd.

During the incident, the mob vandalised the Kolkata Police patrol car. The driver of the car, Badyu Jamaan, Kolkata Police, said, “The crowd came suddenly and damaged the car. A brick hit me on my back when I was standing by the side of my car.”

While speaking to reporters on the incident, a trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Hasan Mushtaq said, “We were to leave at 11 PM for a protest march (from the protesting site). But, there was a group of people outside the campus, they were raising the slogan - 'We want justice', but they weren't moving. The mob turned angry and they were trying to enter the campus. Suddenly, they started coming and vandalising. We have already asked our female team to leave and as they leave the mob broke the barricade and entered and we have to escape to save our lives. Even though we are doing everything peacefully, they came from outside and have done this...”

Trinamool Congress general secretary and MP Abhishek Banerjee said that he spoke to Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal and urged him to "ensure that every individual responsible for today’s violence is identified, held accountable, and made to face the law within the next 24 hours, regardless of their political affiliations".

"The hooliganism and vandalism at RG Kar tonight have exceeded all acceptable limits. As a public representative, I just spoke with CPKolkata," he said in a post on X.

"The demands of the protesting doctors are fair and justified. This is the minimum they should expect from the government. Their safety and security must be prioritised," Banerjee said.

However, BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari who shared the video of the miscreants, alleged that Mamata Banerjee had sent her TMC goons to the apolitical Protest Rally. He wrote, “They were given safe passage by the Police, who either ran away or looked the other way so that these lumpens would enter the hospital premises and destroy areas containing crucial evidence so that it doesn't get picked up by the CBI."

He then questioned, "Why would someone who has come to show solidarity would destroy the Epicenter of the Protests? Lastly the protests happened peacefully across the State, why violence erupted at RG Kar only?”

(With inputs from agencies)