People allege inconvenience due to extra security at hosp

Kolkata: Some relatives of patients staged demonstration outside the Apollo Gleneagles Hospital as they were allegedly inconvenienced due to “extra security arrangements” following the admission of state Forest minister Jyotipriya Mallick who was taken to the hospital on Friday, the day he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the ration scam.

Family members of an 83-year-old woman alleged that their patient was in the operation theatre but they were not allowed to enter the hospital. Many alleged that they were allowed to enter the waiting room. Even those who managed to enter the waiting room were not allowed to wait for long. According to hospital sources, the minister has been admitted to the critical care unit (CCU) and his condition is said to be stable. “He is admitted at CCU in the main block. His bed is kept at a distance from others and guarded by 10 CRPF jawans and two ED officials. No one is allowed to visit the state minister,” a source at the hospital said. Mallick, who has been given a “normal semi-solid diabetic diet”, is stable at the moment. CT scan, MRI and several blood tests were performed on him.

The medical bulletin issued by the hospital on Friday said that the minister is being monitored closely.