"Devil Lies In Fine Print": Chief Justice Grills Bengal On Doctors' Safety
NDTV
The August 9 rape-murder of a doctor at a Kolkata hospital and the arrest of a civic volunteer as the main accused has put the spotlight on this workforce
The West Bengal government has faced tough questions in the Supreme Court on the steps it has taken to beef up security in the state's medical colleges in the aftermath of the horrific rape-murder of a 31-year-old at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
As the Bengal government's counsel, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal listed the state government's steps to step up security at hospitals during a hearing on Tuesday, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud questioned why contractual staff, and not regular cops, were on security duty at the hospital. The Chief Justice also pointed to the fact that Sanjoy Roy, the accused in the doctor's rape-murder, was a civic volunteer who had unfettered access to every corner of the hospital.
The Chief Justice asked if the new security personnel deployed at the hospitals were regular cops or contractual staff under the state government's Rattirer Sathi (night companion) programme to ensure the safety of women healthcare staff. Mr Sibal replied that they were cops, and clarified that contractual staff on security duty was a short-term measure and would be replaced by regular cops.
