Unrest at AMRI as locals stop van carrying ‘bodies’
December 11th, 2011 - 1:16 am ICT by IANSKolkata, Dec 10 (IANS) Fresh trouble broke out at the AMRI Hospital here Saturday as locals scuffled with police after a loaded van tried to move out. The locals claimed the vehicle carried dead bodies of children.
The white van was surrounded by locals around 6.15 p.m. when it tried to slip out of the hospital compound.
Television footage showed a policeman sustaining injuries in the scuffle. But police did not confirm it.
Furious locals claimed that many more people have died than the official toll of 91 and authorities were trying to shift those bodies.
“I saw the van coming out. I along with my friends stopped the van in order to know what was inside the van,” said Babu Ghosh, who was present at the spot.
After the mob demanded the containers wrapped in plastic be opened and shown to them, police tried to pacify them by saying the van only carried sealed biological wastes for disposal in a dumping ground.
Later, the Rapid Action Force personnel were deployed to ease the tension.
In the worst fire tragedy in any hospital in India, 91 patients and staffers were killed in the well-known AMRI Hospital of Kolkata when a blaze engulfed its annexe building early Friday, trapping dozens of helpless patients while doctors and others fled to safety.
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Tags: amri, authorities, blaze, containers, dead bodies, doctors, dozens, dumping ground, fire tragedy, ghosh, hospital compound, India, locals, mob, policeman, rapid action, staffers, television footage, tension, unrest