Two Men Got Attacked in SMCH for Asking about Jobs, "They were rude, but no one raised a hand," said the Principal

Sourav Deb and Gautam Malakar from Silchar filed an RTI in the office of the state Chief Secretariat.  They have been protesting for a long time over the problem of unemployment. They wanted to know how many locals of Barak Valley are working in the health department. When the reply didn’t arrive on time, they approached the Principal of the Silchar Medical College & Hospital on Thursday morning. Principal Dr. Babul Bezbarua said since RTI was not intended for him, he could not answer directly.  The situation escalated into a brawl and the youths were escorted out of the principal’s office by security officials.

After a while, Sourav Deb was seen bleeding profusely, with fresh blood on his nose and mouth.  He alleged that other hospital officials had beaten them in front of the principal, causing him to bleed. However, the principal of the hospital denied this allegation, claiming that he was talking to the young men with utmost respect by offering them to sit in chairs, but they called security and kicked them out of their office when the youth started to get disrespectful and loud. Even the security officer in charge in front of the principal’s office said there were no injuries on the youths’ bodies when they left the principal’s office. They were in a bloody state when they returned about 15-20 minutes later.

Sourav Deb said “We have been asking for a long time why the youth of Barak Valley are being deprived of government jobs. The health department is in the same situation as any other government department. We did an RTI and for that, we came to the principal and wanted to know how many local people have got jobs at Silchar Medical College & Hospital. He didn’t answer us, instead, he got angry and his men beat us on the hospital premises and made us bloody. Even the local police officers did not want to take our FIR. We have been treated this way today just for taking our stance and asking for jobs.”

When asked about this by Dr. Babul Bezbaruah, he said, “When they came to my office, I address them as ‘baba’ and made them sit in the chair in front of me with utmost respect. They said they had recently filed an RTI in the Chief Secretariat’s office and were not getting an answer. I told them if they filed the RTI directed towards me, I would’ve answered them. They have filed RTI for my superiors, I would provide information if I get any from my superiors regarding the RTI. To this, the youths asked me whether I’m working under the Assam Government or not. Their language and conduct was not respectable at all, which made me angry and I called the security personnel and showed them out of the office. Usually, I don’t treat anyone like that, but the way these young people behaved disrespectfully, I was forced to kick them out.  They were reportedly injured, but no one in my office touched them.”

A security guard named Gias Uddin Laskar was working in front of the principal’s office.  He said, “The youths were allowed to go to the principal’s office so we let them go. But suddenly we heard a commotion in front of the principal’s office. I ran towards there to handle the situation and asked those men to leave. After much talking, they left but returned about 15-20 minutes later in a bloody state. When we offered to treat them, they declined.”

The incident created a tense atmosphere at Silchar Medical College & Hospital.  The door was shut off in front of the administrative building, and security officials crowded in there. A high-level meeting was held inside the principal’s office. Meanwhile, Sourav Deb and Gautam Malakar went to Ghungoor police station to file a complaint. The police did not file their report even after sitting there for a long time, they complained. No clear statement has been issued by the police in this regard, but it has been said that the whole incident will be investigated thoroughly. The CCTV footage in the hospital will be collected and it will be verified whether the allegations made by the police are true or not.