R.G. Kar Hospital rejects RTI query on social representation of staff, says information can ‘potentially cause harm’

CISF personnel stand guard outside the trauma centre of R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital after junior doctors rejoined their duty partially, in Kolkata, Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI

The R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, in the news this year for the rape and murder of an on-duty doctor at the premises, has declined to answer a Right to Information (RTI) question on the composition of its staff, saying the query may “potentially cause harm”.

“We regret to inform you that your question is unclear and may potentially cause harm for integrity of the staff framework,” the office of the Medical Superintendent-cum-Vice-Principal of the Kolkata institution said in the reply to the query filed by RTI activist Sabir Ahamed, a researcher at the Amartya Sen-founded Pratichi Trust, and the convenor of Know Your Neighbour, an initiative that promotes communal harmony mainly through heritage walks.

Mr. Ahamed had sought three heads of information — the name, gender, age, designation, qualification, type of association, and social group of people in the faculty, in the administrative offices, and in various committees. The medical college provided the same response for all three categories of people.

“I had sought some basic information which has immense policy implications. The response indicates general apathy and arrogance towards citizens, and lack of accountability in medical governance,” Mr. Ahamed told The Hindu.

In response to the same question, another prominent institution, the Calcutta National Medical College, had asked Mr. Ahamed to first prove that he was an Indian citizen. The college said that the Aadhaar card was not sufficient proof, but as the matter began to gain traction on social media, altered its stand and said that “a mere declaration of citizenship is typically sufficient”. NRS Medical College was another institution that demanded proof of Indian citizenship from Mr. Ahamed.

Mr. Ahamed, who has filed over 2,500 RTI applications since the enactment of RTI Act 2005, said he recently submitted over 70 RTI queries with various departments under the Government of West Bengal, and with medical colleges in the State, seeking information on the representation given to communities in their appointments.

“The main idea is to know how much representation is given to disadvantaged communities. Of the 28 medical institutions I filed the query with, only 10 responded, and of them, only three provided the complete list: Murshidabad Medical College, Purulia Deben Mahata Medical College, and Rampurhat Government Medical College,” he said.