Centre writes to West Bengal govt for CISF deployment at RG Kar hospital

Supreme Court Women Lawyers Association condemns recent crimes against women

NEW DELHI — The Union home ministry on Wednesday wrote to the West Bengal chief secretary seeking deployment of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, official sources said.

The directions from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) came on the order of the Supreme Court.

A CISF team, led by a DIG rank officer, Wednesday morning surveyed the hospital complex where a 31-year-old trainee doctor was allegedly raped and murdered earlier this month.

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The MHA has written to the West Bengal chief secretary so that the CISF can be deployed at the RG Kar hospital. The force will also secure the resident doctors’ hostel, the sources said.

An armed team of the paramilitary force will be deployed soon, they added.

The medic’s body was found in the hospital’s seminar room on the morning of August 9. A civic volunteer, who was an outsider frequenting the hospital premises, was arrested the next day in connection with the case.

The incident has since triggered protests affecting medical services across the country, with hundreds of doctors on strike under different banners demanding safety of medics through a central law.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday constituted a 10-member task force to formulate a national protocol to ensure safety and facilities for doctors. The task force will submit its interim report within three weeks and the final report within two months.

The apex court also ordered the deployment of CISF at the RG Kar hospital to provide security to the doctors.

Supreme Court Women Lawyers Association condemns recent crimes against women

The Supreme Court Women Lawyers Association (SCWLA) on Wednesday condemned recent “horrendous, violent and brutal” crimes against women and young girls, and sought immediate and comprehensive reforms to protect them.

In a statement, the association, led by its president and senior advocate Mahalakshmi Pavani, sought a complete and effective ban on online pornography and obscenity on OTT platforms, along with the installation of CCTV cameras across workplaces and institutions.

“The SCWLA is deeply shocked, traumatised, agonised and pained by the recent spurt of crimes against women, girls and infants, who come from various walks of life, caste, class and age, which were reported in Kolkata, Bihar, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and other parts of India at the hands of brutal, insensitive, perverted perpetrators,” the statement said.

“The association condemns the recent horrific crimes against young girls and women and calls for immediate and comprehensive reforms to protect women,” it added.

“We also urge that gender sensitisation committees come into place in all public and private sectors in consonance with the Prevention of Sexual Harassment at Workplace (POSH) guidelines,” it said.

While calling upon government officials, legal authorities and people to unite to address the issue of women’s security with urgency and seriousness, the association said only comprehensive and coordinated action could create a safer and more equitable society for women.

“The SCWLA strongly condemns these horrendous, violent and brutal crimes and stands in complete solidarity with the young girls and women of this nation,” the statement said.

Amid spiralling nationwide protests over the alleged rape and killing of a trainee doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, the Supreme Court on Tuesday constituted a 10-member National Task Force (NTF) to formulate a protocol for ensuring the safety and security of doctors and other healthcare professionals.