Kolkata: For the first time since the death of 40-year-old Arup Banerjee, the two elevators in the Trauma Care building in RG Kar Medical College and Hospital had liftmen posted inside on Monday. The killer lift number 2 still remains sealed. The hospital also submitted an audit report that says the lift underwent a mandatory health check-up only a few weeks ago. On Monday, police visited the Trauma Care building again along with a team of forensic experts, PWD officials and representatives from the private company responsible for lift maintenance. “It is a sigh of relief that both the lifts have lift operators today. I avoid using the lifts on my own since the tragic death,” said Mohammad Dadul, a petient’s relative.But even as the Trauma Care building elevators had liftmen, not all lifts in other buildings had them. Officials cited a manpower crunch. On Monday, the hospital authority submitted a slew of proposals to Swasthya Bhawan officials, which included increasing manpower so that all 32 elevators in different blocks could have an operator 24×7. “In total, we would require 96 lift operators to work in three shifts. We do not have that kind of manpower. We are hoping for a green signal soon from Swasthya Bhawan for additional manpower,” said a source in RG Kar.The hospital administration has also instructed assistant Supers on duty to make rounds of all buildings at frequent intervals so that any crisis is identified quickly and action initiated immediately.Meanwhile, during interrogation by Kolkata Police, the arrested lift operators said that though they heard screams for help, they could not immediately identify where it was coming from. Police said one of the liftmen took another lift down to the basement that also opened to a locked iron grille. The basement houses the highly sensitive radiotherapy unit, and the keys to the grille gates are kept by security guards, police said.Investigators have also learned that someone ran to the roof of the building, where the lift machine room is located. The room houses the control panel. Police are examining whether an attempt was made from the machine room to operate the lift and whether the lift may have been activated at that time.
