Another man held in West Bengal doctor assault case

One more person has been arrested in connection with the case involving threats and assault on a female doctor at Uluberia Medical College and Hospital in Howrah, taking the total number of arrests to three. The incident has sparked widespread protests by doctors’ unions and political parties over the safety of women and medical professionals in West Bengal.

“One person was arrested in the early hours of Wednesday (October 22, 2025). The total arrests now stand at three. We are analysing all CCTV footage, and if we find more culprits, we will not spare anyone,” Jadhav Shubham Pandurang, Sub-Divisional Police Officer (Uluberia), said on Wednesday (October 22, 2025).

According to police officials, two persons were arrested on Monday (October 20, 2025) for assaulting a woman junior resident doctor at Uluberia Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay Government Medical College and Hospital. The arrests followed a police complaint filed by the doctor on Monday (October 20, 2025) evening. The accused, reportedly, family members of a patient, had allegedly manhandled and abused her earlier that afternoon.

The West Bengal Police acted swiftly to make the arrests; however, the incident has reignited debate over repeated assaults on women and healthcare personnel in the State.

The three arrested men have been identified as Sheikh Samrat, Sheikh Babulal, a Home Guard in the traffic police department, and Sheikh Hasibul. It has also been alleged that Sheikh Babulal had close ties with the Trinamool Congress.

Taking note of the incident, West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose said in a statement, “Violence against doctors is neither a civilised behaviour nor is it desirable. HG urges everyone to be aware of the sterling role that doctors play in ensuring treatment and care of those in need.”

Subir Majumdar, Acting Medical Superintendent-cum-Vice Principal of the Uluberia hospital, said that the institution has over 68 security guards on campus. “When a sudden mob attack happens, it is very hard to handle the situation,” Dr. Majumdar said.

Protests continue

Representatives of the Joint Forum of Doctors and Service Doctors Forum visited the Uluberia hospital and raised concerns about the safety of doctors in State-run medical institutions.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers staged protests in Uluberia, clashing with police personnel on the ground.

Reacting to reports that one of the accused is a police Home Guard, BJP leaders strongly criticised the ruling party. “Now everyone is in Trinamool, all the miscreants have gone and picked up the Trinamool flag to stay safe. They know when they have blessing from theyTrinamool can’t be held accountable,” said State BJP president and Rajya Sabha MP Samik Bhattacharya.

Opposition leaders also drew parallels with the RG Kar Medical College rape and murder incident. CPI(M) State secretary Mohammad Salim said such incidents have become “regular” in West Bengal and accused the ruling party of sheltering offenders. “Mamata asking women to not go out in the night is her acceptance of the failure of the State’s law and order system,” he said.

Trinamool State Vice-President Jay Prakash Majumdar termed the assault “a social evil” and said, “Rape and assault of women is a cancer of society and a national problem across geographies. It is unfortunate that the BJP is politicising this even though the police took prompt action and arrested the accused within hours of the complaint.”