On August 15, miscreants vandalized the hospital's emergency ward, nursing station, medicine store, and parts of the outpatient department. The court, led by Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharya, described the state's response as an "absolute failure of state machinery." The judges expressed deep concern over the lack of preventive measures and questioned the timing of renovation work near the crime scene, suspecting it might interfere with evidence preservation.
In response to the court's directives, the state government has been ordered to file affidavits detailing the sequence of events and the current state of the crime scene. The Kolkata Police, which has already arrested 19 individuals linked to the vandalism, is required to submit a comprehensive report by August 21.
The incident has sparked outrage across the state, with opposition parties accusing the government of inaction during the violence. The situation has also intensified the ongoing strike by junior doctors demanding better security measures and swift justice for their murdered colleague. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee acknowledged the extensive damage to the hospital, highlighting the destruction of two floors in the emergency ward and the looting of medicines and equipment.
The case continues to unfold, with the next hearing set for later this month.