A mob went on a rampage at Vidyasagar State General Hospital in Behala late on Friday night, following the death of a man because of alleged medical negligence.

At least three nurses of the hospital were allegedly assaulted, said an official of the hospital. One of them is undergoing treatment at the hospital.

The glass shields in the doors to the main emergency ward and a window pane at the male section of the ward were smashed and a ground-floor gate damaged, said hospital officials.

A police complaint was filed at Parnasree police station. Twenty-two people have been arrested so far, said a police officer.

The incident is the latest in a series of attacks on hospitals in Bengal at a time doctors are demanding more security in the wake of the rape and murder of a junior doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Calcutta.

Mehmud Alam, 29, a resident of Thakurpur, was brought to the Behala hospital at 8.20pm on Friday with chest pain and shortness of breath. He passed away at 9.15pm, said the hospital official.

The rampage started around 10.30pm and lasted for over an hour. A team from Parnasree police station reached the hospital and reigned in the alleged attackers.

Alam’s family complained of negligence in treatment by the doctors at the hospital. His condition deteriorated allegedly after he was administered an injection, said his wife, Aziza Khatun.

“My husband was not treated properly. How can he collapse because of an injection,” she asked. She also said that her family members were not involved in the attack.

The hospital officials denied allegations of medical negligence. “He was provided with necessary treatment. An injection was given and an ECG was conducted by the doctors at the emergency ward of the hospital. CPR was also given to the patient at the ward. We didn’t get enough time to treat him as he collapsed in between,” said a senior official.

Multiple witnesses said they saw scores of people breaking into the emergency ward, smashing windowpanes and glass shields in doors and abusing hospital staff.

Many of the patients being treated at the hospital’s emergency were immediately shifted to other wards after the attack.

“I was admitted to the emergency ward at the hospital on Friday morning. At night, I could hear some noise outside the ward. Soon a mob attacked the emergency ward and broke doors and windows,” said Mahadeb Ghosh, an 81-year-old patient in the emergency ward.

“I panicked and called for help but I couldn’t find any security personnel near me. Around 1.30am, we were shifted to the second-floor male ward. I was supposed to have been discharged this morning (Saturday) but my blood pressure started fluctuating again. I have to stay another day at the hospital,” he added.