A shocking incident of sexual assault occurred on October 22, at the government-run Seth Sukhlal Karnani Memorial Hospital (SSKM) in Kolkata.
A 15-year-old girl who was visiting the Outpatient Department (OPD) with her parents was allegedly molested by a former staff member. The accused, identified as Amit Mullick, a former ward boy from Dhapa, was arrested by the police the same day, and a case has been registered at the Bhawanipore police station under the provisions of the POCSO Act.
The victim was at the hospital around 1 pm for a consultation, and her parents were occupied with formalities at a counter when the incident took place. According to the family’s complaint, the accused lured the minor away by falsely claiming he was a doctor who would examine her. He led her to a private washroom attached to the trauma centre, locked the door, and then sexually assaulted her. The girl was rescued when she received a call from an unknown number, which was actually her mother frantically searching for her, and the victim asked her mother to call the police. Upon hearing this, the accused immediately fled the scene. The victim’s mother raised an alarm, which led to a search for the girl.
Hospital officials reviewed CCTV footage and spotted Mullick walking with the minor, leading to his identification and subsequent arrest from his residence in Dhapa’s Mallikpara. Joint CP (Crime) Rupesh Kumar confirmed that the survivor’s statement was recorded and that the accused claimed to be a former Group D staff member of Sambhunath Pandit hospital.
The incident has sharply raised concerns about safety standards in public hospitals, as the accused was not a current employee but still gained unauthorised access. Reports suggest Mullick, who is currently a temporary worker at Nil Ratan Sircar (NRS) Hospital, gained entry by wearing an old ward boy uniform. He told police he was familiar with SSKM’s layout, as he had previously worked at Sambhunath Pandit Hospital and Kolkata Police Hospital, both run by SSKM, and had often visited them. However, a review of records at those hospitals could not confirm his employment over the past two years, and the company supplying staff to SSKM also could not find Mullick in its HR records.
This tragic event follows other high-profile incidents involving crimes against women in healthcare settings in the state, suggesting a concerning pattern. Just on October 20, a woman doctor at a hospital in Uluberia, Howrah district, was allegedly assaulted and threatened with sexual violence by a patient’s family members. Furthermore, the state was previously shocked by the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital last year.
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