Gripped by fear after rape-murder case, women medicos left Kolkata hospital: ‘We are just 17 now in our hostel, 160 lived before August 9’

The exodus began on August 9 itself when the body of the junior doctor was found in the seminar room of the institution.

“After August 9, students started to leave the campus. Some returned a couple of days later. But after the attack on the hospital by miscreants on the night of August 14, more students, especially the girls left,” the MBBS student added, referring to the vandalism of a section of the hospital by a mob when protests were taking place outside the hospital gate.

There are five hostels for women doctors and students on the RG Kar hospital campus.

Appearing for the protesting doctors in the Supreme Court on August 22, Senior Advocate Aparajita Singh had said that out of around 700 resident doctors, only about 30-40 women doctors and 60-70 men doctors were staying on the campus following the August 14 vandalism.

“We were so scared that night (August 14), we can’t explain it. Many women nurses and doctors who came here to protest ran towards our hostel as mob attacked, and stayed the night with us. None of us slept that night,” said another second year MBBS student.

Taking note of the incident, the Supreme Court pulled up the West Bengal govt and asked “what were the police doing” when a mob gathered at the hospital, attacked protesters and vandalised the premises. The bench then directed the CISF to provide security to the hospital. So far, 37 people have been arrested in connection with the mob violence.

With 150 CISF personnel now deployed on the campus following the order of the Supreme Court, the medical students said that some may return to their hostels, but they were not sure about it.

“CISF personnel have been deployed in the hospital. Now, we feel much more safe. But until and unless the investigating agency arrests all the culprits, how will we feel completely safe? I do not want to work in the hospital with rapists and murderers standing beside me,” said another MBBS student from Purulia.

Nurses, on the other hand, said that though they were scared, they have no option but to stay in the hostel. “Doctors can skip their duty or male doctors can do a female colleague’s duty, but we have no option. On the RG Kar medical college campus, there are two nursing hostels. All are almost full because we have to do our duties. Even after such scary incidents, we are doing night duties and sometimes we find ourselves alone in a ward. We are now really feeling unsafe,” said a 42-year-old nurse.

Some of the woman junior doctors, who have stayed back, said their parents want them to return. “But I decided to stay here to support the agitation. Without us, how can the fight for justice go on? It is necessary to continue this fight so that, in future, it does not happen to me or any other woman  doctor or student,” said a medical student.