Mahendra Kumar Sarkar (62), a resident of Midnapore’s Gajol area, was suffering from lung cancer and was admitted to the hospital in a serious condition on July 30, said a police officer. Around 9 am on Saturday, he was declared dead by the hospital authorities. Subsequently, his relatives and locals staged a demonstration in front of the cancer unit and later entered the hospital and ransacked its premises.

The deceased’s son, Ranjit Sarkar, alleged that though the condition of his father was serious, no doctor had attended on him since Friday night.

“We tried to explain to the protestors that we had tried our best but the deceased did not respond to the treatment. They later started breaking windowpanes,” said J Mazumdar, hospital superintendent.