Police commissioner Vineet Goyal on Friday admitted to a “failure of assessment” in anticipating the attack on RG Kar Medical College and Hospital a little past Wednesday midnight when the police had spread themselves thin across Calcutta because of the citywide Reclaim the Night vigil.

The contingent at the RG Kar compound that night, led by the deputy commissioner (north division), proved inadequate before the violent mob that was armed with sticks, steel rods, and sharp weapons.

Goyal admitted to the lapse on Friday. “If you say that it is a failure of assessment, yes, you can call it a failure of assessment… (that) 10,000 people will turn up here and they will vandalise the entire place,” he said.

“This entire protest was supposed to be organised peacefully. There was no such intelligence (of violence).”

The police commissioner said it was difficult to assess the situation because the crowds had gathered spontaneously, without any designated leaders.

“We gave instructions to all the people (police) that they have to deal with the situation with extreme care. Of course, when these spontaneous crowds come, it is obviously very, very difficult. There are no specific leaders. Expecting (assessing) how many people would turn up at which place is extremely difficult,” Goyal said.

“There was no such intelligence. I don’t know whether — you (journalists) do a lot of advance reporting — I don’t know whether you also played something like this that, okay, there is likely to be some kind of vandalism there. People can do this, do that.”

Goyal said: “So, obviously, we are human beings. We also make assessments on the basis of whatever is available on the social media, Internet, people, from friends like you, and we try and make an assessment and on that basis we deploy our resources and try to see that law and order is maintained.

“So, the assessment failed. It is not the first time that (an) assessment failure has happened, whether in Kolkata (or) anywhere else. They do happen.”

He added: “We had to spread ourselves thin. There were far too many women. (The issue of) women’s safety was there. We had deployed our resources throughout the city. That night there were spontaneous huge gatherings at a large number of places. We had made arrangements to maintain law and order for the safety and security of women.”

In the high court on Friday, a state lawyer said that about 7,000 people had assembled outside RG Kar and breached the police barricades that night.

“There was sufficient deployment. DC North was there. He and the force tried to deal with the crowd,” Goyal told reporters at the city police headquarters in Lalbazar.

“Despite that, the barricade was breached and people could get in and vandalise the place. We had 15 people injured badly, including the DC North division.”

Deputy commissioner (north division) Abhishek Gupta suffered multiple injuries. He was unconscious and untraceable for some time, the police said. After he was found, he vomited several times.

The officer in charge of Maniktala police station, Debasis Datta, was seen bleeding from the head while charging towards the then fleeing mob, his uniform drenched in blood.

RG Kar, where a 31-year-old postgraduate trainee doctor was found raped and murdered on August 9, was the epicentre of protests that spiralled across the city and far beyond. Many said there should have been a larger police presence outside the hospital on Wednesday night.

Senior police officers said the forces on the roads had been instructed to show restraint against any provocation that night.

“The force that night was not given lathis or any arms because the majority of the people who came out and hit the streets that night were women and students. The matter had to be handled with extreme sensitivity,” an officer said.

“However, some people took advantage of that and attacked the hospital. The mob (that attacked the hospital) was carrying lathis, iron rods, and sharp weapons.”

The police said they had so far arrested 25 people in connection with the violence.

Goyal refused to speak about the possible political affiliations of those arrested. But he mentioned the presence of several women among those arrested, and said they were from various places: Dum Dum, Howrah, Garia, Maniktala and Belgachhia,for example.

So far, those arrested have said they came in ones and twos, Goyal said, adding that they were still being questioned and more arrestswere likely.

Goyal sought help from media crews and ordinary citizens to identify the remaining vandals. He said the police would arrest the guilty irrespective of their political affiliations.

“Whoever is the person of whatever political party, please spread this to tell everyone that we are ready to arrest, take legal action against anyone who was involved on that particular day,” he said.

“But you have to come with evidence (and say), ‘This is the photograph; I know this’,” Goyal said.