A day after the death of Arup Bandyopadhyay, a 40-year-old man, following a malfunction of a lift at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, the Kolkata Police arrested five people, including three lift operators and two security personnel. The incident happened early Friday morning, with Arup Bandyopadhyay, a resident of Dum Dum, reaching the hospital along with his wife and a four-year-old son for the latter’s treatment.
As per hospital sources, Arup, along with his family, entered a lift in the trauma care building of the hospital around 5 am to go to the fifth floor. After entering the lift, the lift malfunctioned. The family wanted to go to the fifth floor, but the lift jerked sharply, going towards the basement instead. There was no operator inside the lift.
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Severe injuries revealed in post-mortem
After some time, the lift door opened, and the family was rescued. Bandyopadhyay’s wife and son were found safe, but Bandyopadhyay was found in a critical condition and later declared dead.
The post-mortem report indicated that the cause of death was polytrauma. It also indicated that Bandyopadhyay had suffered multiple broken ribs and extensive internal injuries, including damage to vital organs such as the heart and lungs. There were also signs of severe internal bleeding.
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Arrests and ongoing investigation
After a complaint was filed with the Tala Police, an investigation into negligence and maintenance-related issues has begun. The arrested individuals have been identified as Milan Kumar Das, Biswanath Das, and Manas Kumar Guha, who work as lift operators, along with Ashrafal Rahman and Shubhadeep Das, who work as security personnel. The arrested individuals will be produced before the Sealdah ACJM court on March 21.
It has also been investigated whether the lift was functioning while under maintenance, as well as whether safety procedures were violated, with the lack of an operator and rescue being delayed.
