After back-to-back incidents of assault inside State-run hospitals, the West Bengal government on Saturday (October 25, 2025) held a meeting where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed her anguish over CCTV monitoring and directed that security staff in the hospitals are not allowed to enter without proper photo identification cards.
While the rape and murder of a doctor at R G Kar Medical College and Hospital in August 2024 had triggered massive protests, several incidents, including threats and sexual assault on doctors, hospital staff, and patients, had surfaced in state-run hospitals in Kolkata and districts.
On October 20, a female doctor was assaulted by a patient’s family at Uluberia Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay Government Medical College and Hospital. The accused men, one of them identified as a police home guard, were accused of threatening to rape the doctor and physically assaulting her inside the hospital.
Two days later, on October 22, a minor girl was allegedly sexually assaulted in the State Government’s SSKM Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, and the accused was arrested and booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who virtually participated in the meeting directed that the security staff in hospitals are not allowed to enter the premises without proper photo identification cards. Various private organizations are responsible for security in different hospitals and have access to the hospital premises.
