City police launched drives against the tout menace in state-run medical colleges and hospitals amidst the ongoing operations against encroachments on government land across the state.
Kolkata police (Photo: Wikipedia)
City police launched drives against the tout menace in state-run medical colleges and hospitals amidst the ongoing operations against encroachments on government land across the state.
The anti-rowdy squad of the Kolkata Police (KP) conducted drives against touts at several teaching hospitals like Medical College Hospital (MCH), SSKM Hospital, N R S Medical College Hospital and others on Wednesday.
According to police, two ambulance drivers, who used to fleece money in thousands of rupees from patients and their relatives, were arrested from the MCH, while three others were rounded up during the drive at SSKM Hospital.
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A senior administrative officer, attached to a premier government medical college hospital, requesting anonymity said that touts make a brisk business by fleecing money from patients in most of the state-run teaching hospitals in the city and districts.
The modus operandi of touts are to arrange indoor beds, trolleys, wheel chairs, attendants for patients, mainly who come from rural belts to hospitals in Kolkata and district towns.
Hardly one year ago, Madan Mitra, Trinamul Congress MLA from Kamarhati, had raised his voice against touts menace at the Sagar Dutta Medical College Hospital in his Assembly area alleging that touts demand hefty sums from patient parties for arranging a bed in the critical care unit (CCU) at the hospital.
The officer felt that there might be some illicit nexus between, mainly a section of group D staff and touts in government hospitals.
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