Three arrested after trainee doctor assaulted, threatened with sexual assault at govt hospital in Kolkata
PTC News Desk: Three people have been arrested in Uluberia, West Bengal, for allegedly assaulting a woman doctor at a government hospital and threatening her with rape. The incident, coming a year after the brutal rape and murder of a doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, has triggered a political clash between the ruling Trinamool Congress and the opposition BJP.
The attack took place on Monday at Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay Government Medical College and Hospital in Howrah district. The accused are reportedly relatives of a patient admitted there. An argument broke out between them and the doctor in the afternoon, during which she was allegedly assaulted. She later lodged a police complaint, leading to the arrests. Among those detained is a Home Guard identified as Sheikh Babulal, along with Sheikh Samrat and Sheikh Hasibul.
Members of the Joint Forum of Doctors, representing medical professionals across Bengal, visited the hospital and voiced concern over the safety of on-duty doctors.
Reacting to the incident, the BJP blamed the Trinamool government for failing to ensure security. State BJP president and Rajya Sabha MP Samik Bhattacharya accused the ruling party of fostering lawlessness, saying, “Trinamool has created a disturbed society where even Home Guards and civic volunteers act with impunity, believing the government is theirs. There’s no proper CCTV surveillance, and the administration has failed to learn from past tragedies.”
Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar said women in Bengal are "terrifyingly unsafe" under Mamata Banerjee's rule.
"After the bone-chilling R.G. Kar Medical College rape and murder incident, the Chief Minister's loud claims stand completely exposed. The latest proof - the shocking incident at Uluberia Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay Government Medical College in Howrah. A woman doctor was harassed and threatened with rape inside the hospital by a Home Guard! The doctor also alleged that there were no security personnel present at the time. The victim is now traumatised and living in fear," he said on X.
"No matter how much the failed Chief Minister @MamataOfficial tries to shirk responsibility, she and her incompetent, exposed police administration are squarely to blame. Under Mamata Banerjee's rule, women in Bengal are terrifyingly unsafe and each such incident shows the Trinamool government's sins have overflown their limits," Majumdar added.
- PTC NEWS
