Kolkata: NRS nursing students accuse professor of harassment

KOLKATA: A professor of anatomy at NRS Medical College and Hospital, Abhijit Bhakta, was on Saturday accused of inappropriate behaviour by second-year nursing students, who lodged a complaint with the principal, seeking action against him.
According to the complaint, one of the second-year BSc students was walking towards her hostel on Thursday afternoon, when Bhakta’s car stopped in front of her.Bhakta allegedly asked her uncomfortable questions, including about her vital statistics, before forcing her to get into his car. She was taken to a tailor to take measurement for a dress, apparently at the behest of someone the doctor knew, said the complaint, which stated three clinical tutors had witnessed Bhakta talking to the victim before making her board the car. Bhakta allegedly shooed away the three tutors. The victim, on returning to the hostel, narrated her ordeal to her friends, following which they collectively decided to lodge a complaint, raising questions about their security and dignity.

“This is an absolutely fabricated story to malign my image and a conspiracy by people with vested interest to remove me from my position,” Bhakta told TOI.
According to sources, Bhakta holds a powerful position in the Trinamool-backed Progressive Doctors’ Association (PDA) and is known to be close to party leader Nirmal Majhi, who was recently replaced by Santanu Sen as the chairman of Rogi Kalyan Samity at NRS. A section of doctors feels the allegation against Bhakta might have to do with the recent change in the dynamics at the hospital. “This professor flaunts his political links and not many in the medical fraternity like his attitude. But right now, two lobbies on the NRS campus are at loggerheads. It is possible that some people are trying to implicate him to clip his wings,” said a PDA insider. Sources at the hospital also said Bhakta was very vocal against the killing of 16 puppies on the campus in January last year, in which some nursing students were accused.
“The principal has learnt about the complaint. Since he was not in office on Saturday, he should receive the formal complaint by Monday and decide on what the authorities would do about it,” said a senior NRS Hospital official.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court directives on cases related to sexual assault)