Three persons arrested in the Uluberia medical college assault and rape-threat case were granted bail on Tuesday, triggering outrage among a section of the junior doctors in Bengal.
Members of the West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front have accused the West Bengal police of “deliberate negligence.”
The doctors’ association alleged that a delay in filing the chargesheet in the case of an assault and rape threats issued to a doctor at the Uluberia medical college about a month ago led to all the accused being granted bail.
Speaking to The Telegraph Online, Parichay Panda, a member of the WBJDF, questioned why investigators could not submit a chargesheet despite the accused remaining in custody for several weeks.
“A chargesheet can be filed within 60 or 90 days. But in such a serious case, where the perpetrators have political backing and can intimidate the witnesses, the investigation should have been fast-tracked and the chargesheet could have been filed quickly. Is there any rule that the chargesheet has to be filed on the very last day?” he asked.
On the evening of 20 October, a 28-year-old junior doctor at the Uluberia Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay Medical College and Hospital’s antenatal ward was assaulted over alleged delay in attending to a pregnant woman.
The junior doctor had told the Uluberia cops that a man claiming to be a home guard of the Howrah rural district police, assaulted her while she was on duty and threatened her with dire consequences if she stepped out of the campus.
The doctor had alleged that one of her three attackers twisted her arms while another punched her on the neck.
Based on the doctor’s complaint, a case was filed under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including insulting the modesty of a woman, causing grievous hurt to a public servant, assaulting or using criminal force against a public servant and criminal intimidation.
Apart from the home guard, who was arrested in the case, two others were linked to the ruling Trinamool.
Panda said the alleged links of the accused with the ruling party was why the cops were reluctant to probe the case and file the chargesheet within the stipulated time.
“Now that they have been released, we are scared for the safety and security of the junior doctor. The young medico has slipped into depression and is under treatment,” Panda said.
When contacted an officer at the Uluberia police station dismissed the allegations. “Your facts are wrong. The person who has told you this, ask him to read the law first,” the officer said. He claimed he had no information on when the chargesheet would be submitted.
Assistant Public Prosecutor Haru Duwari said he wasn’t aware on what grounds the accused were granted bail.
“I will go to the court on Thursday and go through the copy of the order to find,” said Duwari.
Senior lawyer Jayanta Narayan Chattopadhyay said the junior doctors were justified in their apprehensions.
“Public prosecutors have a selective approach to cases, especially when it involves anyone connected to the ruling party. Often they stay away from court proceedings. Police are also complicit in conducting weak investigations. They frequently mix up police custody and jail custody pleas,” he alleged.
The WBJDF maintained that the developments in the aftermath of the RG Kar case – where a postgraduate trainee was raped and murdered inside the college in August 2024 - reinforced a pattern of political shielding, administrative slackness, and compromised legal procedure that endangers medical professionals and undermines public confidence.