West Bengal not providing logistical support to CISF personnel at Kolkata hospital, Centre tells SC

The Centre has moved the Supreme Court demanding that the West Bengal government be directed to provide logistical support to Central Industrial Security Force personnel guarding Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, PTI reported

The Supreme Court issued orders on August 20 and August 22 for Central Industrial Security Force personnel to be deployed at the hospital, taking note of allegations that state police personnel “ran away” when a mob attacked a protest site there on the night of August 14. A group of citizens had gathered at the hospital to protest the rape and murder of a junior doctor, whose body was found on the institute premises on August 9.

The Union government on Tuesday accused the West Bengal government of “wilful non-compliance” in providing basic infrastructure for the central forces deployed there, ANI reported.

“The CISF personnel deployed at RG Kar Hospital are facing severe difficulties due to the lack of accommodation and basic security infrastructure,” the Union home ministry told the court. “The troops are presently staying at CISF Unit SMP, Kolkata despite the constraints being faced by the accommodating unit.”

The Centre further told the court that the travel time from the CISF unit to the hospital was nearly an hour, making it difficult for the force to discharge its duties, and for troops to be mobilised promptly during emergencies.

The Supreme Court had taken cognisance on its own of the rape and murder of the junior doctor and constituted a National Task Force of doctors to recommend measures to ensure safety in the workplace for medical professionals.

A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra had said that the court was concerned about the “virtual absence of conditions of safety for young doctors in public hospitals, especially women doctors who are more vulnerable because of the nature of work and gender”.