(Top) The 3,400sq ft apartment on the second floor of Chittaranjan Sishu Sadan that CPM leader Md Salim and his doctor wife Rosina Khatun have been living in for over two decades; (Middle) family nameplates on the door to the apartment and (below) a sample of the 700sq flat Rosina is entitled to as an anaesthetist with the hospital

Mamata Banerjee knocked on CPM leader Mohammad Salim and doctor wife Rosina Khatun’s door on Friday, not for a courtesy call but to find out whether they had vacated their 3,400sq ft apartment on the second floor of a state-run hospital.

“Are they still living here? Haven’t you asked her (Rosina) to shift?” Mamata asked Asish Kumar Mukhopadhyay, the superintendent of Chittaranjan Sishu Sadan in Hazra.

The chief minister stared at a nameplate in black and gold on the left flap of the wooden door that bore the couple’s names. A white printout stuck on the right announced the names of their two sons, Russel Aziz and Atish Aziz. The family wasn’t at home to receive their surprise guest; Mukhopadhyay informed Mamata that they were on vacation.

The hospital superintendent said anaesthetist Rosina was on leave since June 17 and that she would receive a written request to shift to an apartment of the size she was entitled to on resuming duty on June 30.

For Rosina and her family, a 700sq ft flat will take adjusting to after spending over two decades — since 1989, according to official records — in an apartment where the living room alone is 900sq ft. Then there is the makeshift terrace garden. In the heart of south Calcutta, that’s luxurious with a capital L.

“As an anaesthetist, she is entitled to a 700sq ft flat. But because of her husband’s political connections, she has been enjoying much bigger accommodation all these years,” said a doctor who recently retired from the Hazra children’s hospital.

As and when Rosina moves out, space-starved Chittaranjan Sishu Sadan intends to add 60 more beds to the four-storeyed hospital. The remaining portion of the second floor houses rooms for the resident medical officers. The top floor has storerooms.

On June 13, Mamata had taunted Chittaranjan Sishu Sadan’s principal Mala Bhattacharya for complaining about lack of space while allowing someone with a political connection to occupy a large apartment. The jibe came during an interaction at Town Hall with health department officials and senior government doctors from across the state.

Hospital superintendent Mukhopadhyay said the authorities had since prepared a report on the status of residential accommodation on the hospital premises and sent it to the chief minister’s office. “After confirming that she (Rosina) was occupying an apartment in the hospital building rather than a staff quarter, the chief minister asked us to immediately request her to leave the apartment and shift to smaller accommodation meant for doctors.”

Metro tried contacting Salim but found his cellphone switched off. No other CPM leader was available for comment on the bid to reclaim the apartment from Rosina.

Union minister Mukul Roy, now in charge of railways, said Salim’s wife occupying an apartment she wasn’t entitled to in her official capacity was just one of the many alleged misdeeds of leaders of the erstwhile ruling CPM.

“They have been doing such illegal things for a long time. I am sure more CPM leaders will be found out if a thorough check is done.”

At the hospital on Friday, Mamata was inquisitive at every step, as usual. “Why are several beds empty in the paediatric ward?” she asked during an inspection of the first floor, to which superintendent Mukhopadhyay replied that it was one of those rare days when beds outnumbered patients requiring admission.

Later, on spotting some children and their parents huddled under a rain shade in another part of the hospital, Mamata was quick to ask: “But you said there are not too many patients today?”

The superintendent explained that these were patients waiting for a check-up. “We then raised the shortage of space for expansion. We told her that a solitary night shelter for patients’ attendants was far from adequate. She asked us to draw up a wish list, mentioning feasible expansion options,” Mukhopadhyay said.

According to officials, the only option apart from converting the flat occupied by Rosina and her family into a ward was to rebuild a crumbling and abandoned building spread across 9,000sq ft.

“We need more staff quarters as well. The existing quarters can accommodate 90 families, but at least 50 more employees are on the waiting list. We will be submitting these details to the chief minister by next week,” Mukhopadhyay said.

Mamata interacted with patients in every ward, asking them whether they were being looked after well and what else they required.

When principal Bhattacharya offered to accompany her on a round of the facility, she asked her to continue examining her patients.

“How long have you been in the queue?” Mamata asked the relative of a patient.

“Have the doctors treated you properly? Is drinking water available here?” she questioned another.

Turning to some of the children, the chief minister said she was embarrassed at having come to meet them without gifts. “I came empty-handed…. I shouldn’t have,” she pleaded guilty with a smile.

Three hours after Mamata wrapped up her 20-minute walk through the hospital, 200 packets containing fruits and chocolates arrived for the children and their attendants.