A 24-year-old gym instructor was among those arrested in connection with the violent mob attack on a Kolkata hospital where a junior doctor was raped and murdered. Souvik Das admitted to participating in the vandalism but claimed he was swept up in the emotion of the moment.
“I had gone there to participate in the protest rally. But when everyone started vandalising emotionally, I also started doing it,” Das said.
Hundreds of people stormed the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital early on Thursday, wreaking havoc on the facility where the trainee doctor was killed. The attack came as doctors were holding a midnight protest to demand justice for their slain colleague.
“All this did not happen at anyone’s instigation. But now I understand that I have committed a crime,” Das said. He said he recognised many of the other vandals from his gym.
When asked about the CCTV footage showing him wielding a steel rod during the attack, Das said someone had given it to him.
According to Das, the violence was not premeditated. He also claimed to have gone to the hospital alone.
“I had gone to participate in the rally,” he asserted, denying that there was a plan to target and vandalise the hospital.
The mob rampage caused widespread damage to the hospital and left doctors, nurses and other staff shaken. Videos showed the mob tearing through the hospital and assaulting security personnel. Armed with cricket bats and metal rods, the mob destroyed CCTV cameras, medicine cabinets, and clinical equipment.
The violence set off a political firestorm, with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accusing Left groups and the BJP of orchestrating the attack. The Opposition refuted the charge, claiming that the mobs were backed by the ruling Trinamool Congress to sabotage the investigation.
The incident galvanised healthcare providers and doctors’ unions to resume a nationwide strike, just a day after they had called off their initial protest.
Police have arrested 32 people so far in connection with the mob attack, and released photos of 76 suspects. The search for remaining suspects is ongoing.