Rape, murder of junior doctor brings R G Kar Medical College and Hospital’s dark past under lens

The August 9 rape and murder of the 31-year-old post-graduate junior doctor at Kolkata’s state-run R G Kar Medical College and Hospital has brought under focus a number of unnatural deaths at the 138-year-old institute in recent years.

“In 2020, the body of a post-graduate female student was found on the ground outside the same emergency building where the body of the August 9 victim was found at the third-floor seminar hall of the chest department,” a doctor from the hospital said on condition of anonymity.

“The police and the hospital authorities said the student died by suicide. Although no suicide note was found on the victim, it was said that driven by depression, she jumped from the sixth floor,” the doctor added.

“There was no protest in 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The matter died down in a few down,” said Dr Suvankar Chatterjee, a former student of RG Kar Medical College who is now leading an agitation on behalf of the All India Democratic Students Organisation, a Leftist group, demanding justice for the August 9 victim.

In 2003, a 23-year-old male under-graduate student died of a fall from the hostel building. This, too, was declared as death by suicide. The police said after investigation that the student, a resident of Suri in Birbhum district, apparently injected sedatives into his veins and then sliced the veins with surgical scissors before jumping off the hostel roof. The victim’s classmates claimed he used to stay aloof most of the time.

“The investigating officers went through his belongings but found nothing that could indicate why the student died by suicide,” K L Tamta, the then deputy commissioner (headquarters) of the Kolkata Police told the media in 2003.

“There was no agitation after the 2003 incident but the hospital was rocked in 2001 when another male student, Soumitra Biswas, died an unnatural death. The body was found hanging by the neck inside his hostel room. I was a student at that time,” Dr Chatterjee said.

“It was widely alleged that Biswas was murdered for protesting against a racket comprising a section of students and hospital staff who were involved in all sorts of illegal activities including shooting adult videos in some specific hostel rooms. Sex workers used to be hired and brought into the premises for this,” a doctor currently attached to the hospital said on condition of anonymity.

“Some powerful leaders of the then ruling CPI(M) protected the racketeers. The investigation didn’t make much headway and it was declared that Biswas had died by suicide,” the doctor added.

“A lot of people are digging up the past and seeking probe into these incidents. I feel we should focus on the August 9 victim and the CBI probe or else the people’s movement, which is gaining momentum, will get diverted,” Dr Koushik Chaki, a member of the West Bengal Doctors Forum, said.