Union minister tells NRS to suspend 2 nursing students

Kolkata: Union minister Maneka Gandhi on Thursday called up senior officials of the Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College and Hospital here and asked them to immediately suspend the two nursing students who were held for allegedly killing 16 puppies, a hospital official said.

The Union Women and Child Development minister, who telephoned the senior (NRS) official, also told that she would "ensure that the license of Hospital's Nursing wing" was cancelled unless the duo were suspended, he said.

"Maneka Gandhi called up and spoke to a senior official of our hospital and talked about the matter," the official confirmed.

The Union minister is also an animal rights activist.

On whether the Union minister set up any deadline for the suspension of the two nursing students, the official said: "There was no deadline provided to us for the suspension of the two girls. We are looking into the matter. We cannot anything more into it."

Earlier in the day, tension triggered at NRS after nursing students agitated demanding withdrawal of terms and conditions imposed on the five nursing students who were accused of killing the puppies. It is alleged that an organisation of nurses, backed by a political party, is trying to instigate the nursing students against the hospital authority. On the other hand, the Test Identification (TI) parade of the two arrested nursing students were not done as they refused to appear for it.

According to sources, on Thursday, an eight-member special team who claimed they were representatives from Swasthya Bhawan went to the hospital to meet the nursing students' representatives. But students claimed that they would only talk to the hospital Super or in his presence. When the members of the special team tried to go to the Super's office, students allegedly confined three of them and asked the rest five members to go to his office.

As a result the meeting got cancelled. Later, at around 5 pm, the meeting commenced in presence of the hospital Super, Deputy Super and Nursing Super. The meeting continued till 6 pm. Though the hospital authority claimed that the meeting was a success, the nursing students allegedly heckled Deputy Super Dwaipayan Biswas when he was leaving the conference hall. Immediately, the police cordoned and arranged safe passage for Biswas who left in a police van.

Later when Nursing Super Manisha Ghosh tried to go out, she was also heckled. It has been alleged that there were several outsiders present during the meeting which the hospital authority had noted and asked them to leave the place.

On the other hand, the two arrested nursing students are still in judicial custody as their family members were not able to submit the bail bonds on Thursday.