Kolkata, March 20 A man died allegedly after getting stuck in the elevator of a state-run R G Kar hospital in north Kolkata on Friday, prompting BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari to term it "murder" and blame Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for the incident.
While the BJP alleged that corruption in the state's healthcare system was the cause of the incident, Adhikari held CM Banerjee, who is in charge of the health department, Health Secretary Narayan Swaroop Nigam, and the hospital superintendent responsible for the death.
The leader of the opposition in the outgoing Assembly of the poll-bound West Bengal claimed the elevator at the R G Kar Medical College, where the man died, was under maintenance at the time.
"I have documents with me… they intentionally killed (the man) using a lift that was being repaired. A case of murder should be immediately registered in the matter," he told reporters while campaigning at Mahishadal in Purba Medinipur.
Besides contesting from his stronghold Nandigram, Adhikari is also pitted against Banerjee in Bhabanipur for the state polls.
The death, which has given new ammunition to the opposition party ahead of the polls, occurred when the victim had brought his four-year-old son for treatment at the R G Kar Medical College and Hospital.
He got stuck in the elevator when it stopped functioning suddenly, the man's family claimed, adding that his wife was at the trauma care unit at the time. They also claimed that there was no operator at the elevator.
The man, in his early 40s, was bleeding from his nose when he was rescued and taken to the emergency unit, a senior hospital official said. "A post-mortem will ascertain the cause of the death," the official said.
The hospital's patient welfare committee chairman, Atin Ghosh, who is also the deputy mayor of Kolkata, admitted that there may have been some lapses, owing to which the "unfortunate incident" took place.
The police will take steps in accordance with the law, Ghosh said.
Latching on to the incident, Adhikari launched a scathing attack on the incumbent Mamata Banerjee government, terming the hospital authorities "direct killers" and the health minister as well as the health secretary "indirect killers".
The BJP's West Bengal unit also targeted the Trinamool Congress dispensation over the incident, saying the RG Kar hospital has again made headlines and alleged the government's negligence towards the healthcare system.
The party claimed the incident occurred because there was no lift operator and the elevator was not locked despite being under maintenance..
"Lakhs and crores are spent by the TMC government on madrassas, but money is not spent on improving the necessary infrastructure in the healthcare system.
"Furthermore, due to corruption in the healthcare system under Health Minister Mamata Banerjee, such unfortunate incidents at hospitals have been fairly common in the last 15 years," it said in a post on X.