Stepping up his attacks at the state government, West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose on Friday said that West Bengal is facing a bizarre situation where the government has failed to maintain law and order in the state and people are unable to distinguish between the criminals and police.
This statement came after the unidentified mob vandalised the RG Kar Hospital campus on August 14, causing damage to the protest site, vehicles, and public property.
Asserting that the public confidence had been shaken, Governor Bose stated that police and authorities had failed to manage the situation and there was a deliberate attempt to mislead people and establish the incident as a suicide.
In an interview with ANI, speaking on the rape-murder of a PG trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital rape and vandalism at the protesting site, West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose said, “The government is primarily responsible for that, there is no law and order in the state. The much more important thing is that everybody has the right to live with dignity, particularly mothers and sisters, which is not present in contemporary Bengali society because the government has failed the people.”
West Bengal Governor further said that there is a need to correct the administration of West Bengal and establish law and order properly.
“Suppose we put a fence to protect the cops but what if the fence starts eating cops? When society is mad, you’re putting the chain, suppose if chain itself becomes mad. It’s a very bizarre situation that Bengal is facing. People are doubting who is the thief and who is the cop. The distinction has been blood. Public confidence has been shaken. There is a need to establish law and order properly. Correction is required in the administration of Bengal,” he said.
Bose asserted that this issue had been badly handled by the authorities and there was a deliberate attempt to tamper with and destroy the evidence.
“Whatever happened in RG Kar Medical College and Hospital is very disturbing, shocking and shameful. It challenges all norms of civilised contact. People are disappointed because the police didn’t take any action, not only that, there has been an attempt to tamper with and destroy the evidence, but they also feel that there has been a deliberate attempt to mislead them to give the impression that it was a suicide. The issue has been handled very badly by the authorities,” he stated.
Emphasising the need to listen to the demands of the youngsters to get justice, he said that the government can’t take youngsters for granted, as they are the foundation for the future.
Blaming the government for mismanaging the issue, Bose said, “People have the right to know the truth and they are demanding that. I went to the spot yesterday, interacted with them, and what the youngsters were asking was justice. People are just demanding justice, the whole society is with them, and we have to give them justice. Don’t take the youngsters for granted, they are not creatures of the past or custodians of the present, they are creatures of the future. When they say “we want justice”, it means they are not getting justice from the competent authorities. This is clearly a failure of the custodians of justice, that is government.”
Explaining about his visit to the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, the West Bengal Governor stated that the vandalism on the campus was more humiliating and depressing. He said that nursing students were threatened by the miscreants that they will rape them in public.
He said, “I went to the spot and all doctors, students and protestors were shocked by the dastardly attack on the midnight of 14th August, police were there to guard them but they did nothing, equipments were also destroyed. It was a more humiliating and depressing incident. Nursing students there told me with tears in their eyes that those goons threatened them to rape in public. Who was there to question? That was anarchy, which may be limited to a certain area, but such anarchy could have killed various. People are taking laws into their own hands, this is not acceptable in a civilised society. This is happening in Bengal.”
He further informed, “I have asked for the responsible report on the incident from the government under Article 167 of the Constitution and waiting for that. I’ll take a look and give my views on it.”
As the Calcutta High Court transferred the case to the CBI from the state police, Bose reacted, “Now that the issue is before the Court, we expect justice from it, which we always get. It’s the court that transferred the case to CBI, the court is watching it. We have great hopes from the judiciary.”
Speaking on Mamata Banerjee’s rally, he said, “Rally is good but it should be about bringing the truth not coming across the truth. I wish the rally very best and I wish it brings out the truth.”
Meanwhile, the Kolkata Police arrested 25 people in connection with the vandalism by an unidentified mob at the RG Kar Hospital campus on August 14, causing damage to the protest site, vehicles, and public property.
On Wednesday night, a mob entered the RG Kar Hospital campus, causing damage to the protest site, vehicles, and public property. Security officials were forced to intervene to disperse the crowd.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleged that the Left is in connivance with the Ram (the Bharatiya Janata party) to create unrest in West Bengal.
“Left and Ram want to create unrest in Bengal and they both have come together to do this,” She said while referring to the vandalism at RG Kar Hospital in Kolkata on Wednesday.
A team of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) visited the RG Kar Medical College Hospital on Thursday afternoon for a digital blueprint of the doctor rape-murder incident.
Earlier in the day, four doctors of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital were summoned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Kolkata, amid the ongoing protest over the rape-murder of the trainee doctor, sources said.
Earlier on Thursday, West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar alleged that vandalism at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital was an attempt to destroy evidence.
The vandalism occurred on August 14 when a mob entered the RG Kar Hospital campus, causing damage to the protest site, vehicles, and public property. Security officials were forced to intervene to disperse the crowd.
On August 9, a post-graduate trainee doctor was found dead in the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. The victim’s family has alleged that she was raped and murdered. This incident has triggered a nationwide protest by doctors and medical fraternities.
(With inputs from ANI)
