Police acted on a complaint filed by the victim’s father, Amal Banerjee, on March 20. “Based on the complaint, police registered an FIR invoking sections related to culpable homicide,” a senior officer said, adding that five individuals linked to elevator maintenance in the trauma care building were detained on Friday evening.
The arrested individuals are liftmen Milan Kumar Das (49), Biswanath Das (48), Manas Kumar Guha (55), and security personnel Ashrafal Rahaman (31) and Subhadip Das (24). They will be produced before the ACJM, Sealdah, on March 21. The DD Homicide section will take over further investigation, while experts from the FSL’s Physics division have already inspected the trauma care building on Saturday. Experts from the Biology division are scheduled to visit the place of occurrence on Monday.
According to the family, the deceased, Arup Banerjee, in his early 40s, got stuck inside the lift when it malfunctioned. They alleged the elevator was under maintenance, had no operator on duty, and was not properly secured.
A senior hospital official said the man was rescued with injuries and bleeding from the nose and taken to the emergency unit, where he later died.
Post-mortem findings shared by Kolkata Police late Friday stated the death was due to “polytrauma”, including compression of the chest wall, rupture of the heart, lungs, and liver, and multiple fractures of the legs, hands, and ribs. Police added the injuries were ante-mortem, indicating they occurred before death.
The homicide section of the Detective Department has taken over the probe. A state forensic team inspected the trauma care building, collecting samples from the elevator, its collapsible gate, the ground floor, and the shaft wall. Investigators also examined duty rosters and questioned staff present during the incident.
Patient Welfare Committee chairman Atin Ghosh acknowledged possible lapses leading to the “unfortunate incident” and said action would follow as per law.
The incident occurred when the victim had brought his four-year-old son for treatment, while his wife was reportedly at the trauma care unit.
Hospital Medical Superintendent Saptarshi Chattopadhyay said a complaint lodged with authorities was forwarded to the Tala police station.
The case has also triggered political reactions. Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari termed the death “murder” and held Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Health Secretary Narayan Swaroop Nigam, and hospital authorities responsible. The BJP alleged systemic corruption and negligence in the state’s healthcare infrastructure.
The hospital had earlier drawn national attention over the rape and murder of a woman doctor in August 2024 and subsequent investigations into alleged financial irregularities. Former principal Sandip Ghosh was later arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation in connection with those allegations and remains in jail.
