THE Centre on Tuesday moved the Supreme Court alleging “unpardonable” non-cooperation by the West Bengal Government in providing logistical support to the CISF, tasked with providing security at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, where a trainee doctor was raped and murdered. Terming the alleged noncooperation of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) Government as an example “symptomatic of a systemic malaise”, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs has sought a direction to West Bengal authorities to extend full cooperation to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).

 

In case of their failure to do so, the Centre urged the apex court to initiate contempt proceedings against the State Government officials concerned for “wilful non-compliance” of the court orders. On August 20, the apex court had termed the rape and murder case of a medic at the hospital as “horrific” and issued a slew of directions including setting up of a 10- member National Task Force to formulate a protocol for ensuring the safety and security of doctors and other health care professionals. Besides, the top court had taken a serious note of mob violence in th e hospital and the allegation that the Kolkata police fled the scene, and ordered deployment of CISF at the hospital to enable doctors to resume work. In an application filed in the case the apex court has initiated on its own, the MHA said the plea “concerns the deployment of CISF personnel at the R G Kar Medical College, including the hostels where the resident doctors are staying to ensure their safety”.

 

“The CISF personnel deployed at R G Kar Hospital are facing severe difficulties due to lack of accommodation and lack of basic security infrastructure. The troops are presently staying at CISF Unit SMP, Kolkata despite the constraints being faced by the accommodating unit,” it said. The application said the travel time from Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port (SMP), Kolkata to the hospital was an hour from one side and it was difficult to discharge duties effectively and to mobilise CISF troops to duly and promptly respond during contingencies. It said the MHA had taken up the matter with the chief secretary of West Bengal through a September 2 letter requesting for adequate logistical arrangeme