A mob has vandalized a government hospital in Kolkata during a midnight protest against the recent rape and murder of a doctor. Crucial infrastructure at the emergency ward at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital was destroyed, suggest local reports.

A student at the hospital said the “outsiders” were part of the mob and that they were safe now.

A huge crowd had assembled on the hospital campus to mark their protest – part of a nationwide agitation to “reclaim the night” and make it safer for women.

As the protest turned violent, the cops fired tear gas and resorted to lathi-charge the agitators to bring the situation under control. Riot control police have also been deployed.

Stone pelting was also reported from the hospital.

Barricades erected by the cops have been taken down by the protesters who are demanding justice for the 31-year-old postgraduate trainee. A bike was also set on fire outside the government-run hospital.

A huge crowd had assembled at the hospital just before midnight to mark their protest against the incident that has shaken the country.

Kolkata Police chief Vineet Goyal, who reached the hospital around 2 am, denied charges of midhandling of the case by cops. “We have not tried to save anyone, the media ran a malicious campaign,” Mr Goyal told reporters early Thursday night.

The doctor was found dead on August 9 morning. Her autopsy confirmed later she was raped and murdered while on duty, sparking nationwide protests and strikes by resident doctors.

A civic volunteer was arrested a day later by the cops in the case. The CBI has taken over the probe into the case after a High Court order.

Women in Kolkata and several other parts of the country hit the streets around midnight today to protest against the horrific rape and murder of a 31-year-old doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. The incident has shaken the country and triggered nationwide protests. At demonstrations in medical colleges and hospitals across the country, doctors have demanded security on duty.

Amid the protests, a mob vandalised the hospital where the post-graduate trainee doctor was raped and murdered. As the protest turned violent, the cops fired tear gas and resorted to lathi-charge the agitators to bring the situation under control.

A student of the medical college and hospital said, “They were outside mob.”

The protest, which has been named, “Women, reclaim the night”, began at 11.55 tonight, and has been described as, “For women’s independence on the midnight of independence”.

Here are Updates on the Kolkata protest: