Doctors strike nationwide over Kolkata rape-murder, medical services hit
KOLKATA, AUG 17 : The 24-hour nationwide cease-work protest by doctors called by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) over the murder and rape of a trainee doctor at a state-run medical college in Kolkata began on Saturday morning.
All health services, except for essential services and casualties, will not be functioning from 6 am on Saturday to 6 am on Sunday, as the medical fraternity seeks justice and action on their demands, including a thorough overhaul of the working and living conditions of resident doctors and the implementation of a central law to prevent violence against healthcare professionals at workplaces.
DOCTORS’ NATIONWIDE PROTEST – LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
Medical services have been hit across the country as doctors, nurses, and the medical fraternity protest over the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at Kolkata’s RG Medical College. No routine Outpatient Department (OPD) sections will be functioning at hospitals, and elective surgeries will also not be conducted. Casualty and other essential services will be maintained, the medical body stated.
The IMA has put forward five demands in front of the authorities. They include a thorough overhaul of the working and living conditions of resident doctors, including the 36-hour duty shift. It has also demanded that hospitals be declared safe zones with the first step being mandatory security entitlements.
The doctors’ body also called for meticulous and professional investigation of the rape-murder in a specific time-frame and rendering of justice. The IMA also stressed identifying those involved in the vandalism of the hospital premises and awarding exemplary punishment. The association further sought an appropriate and dignified compensation to the bereaved family commensurate with the cruelty inflicted.
Today’s strike follows multiple protests by doctors from various cities who gathered outside hospitals and central government offices on Friday. Medical services were affected in cities including Kolkata, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Delhi, and many other parts of the country in the joint protest announced by Resident Doctors’ Associations. In Delhi, a large protest march was held outside Nirman Bhavan, which houses key health ministry offices.
Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee held a protest march in Kolkata, seeking the death penalty for the accused and a speedy probe by the CBI. She also demanded that the central agency complete the investigation before Sunday, August 18, stating that the Kolkata Police have already completed 90 percent of the probe.
The BJP has stepped up its protest against the West Bengal government, demanding Banerjee’s resignation, stating that she has failed to fulfil her constitutional duties. The BJP also accused the Trinamool Congress of trying to destroy evidence by sending a mob to vandalise RG Kar Hospital on Wednesday night. Alleging that law and order have “failed” in the state, BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar said that the saffron party will also hold a sit-in demonstration near RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose stated that RG Kar Hospital has become a “school of scandals” and alleged that “what we see is just the tip of the iceberg.” Criticizing the Chief Minister, he said Mamata Banerjee “is behaving like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde” amid public anger over the horrific rape and murder of a trainee doctor in a government-run hospital in Kolkata.
The CBI team, which probes the murder of the trainee doctor questioned RG Kar Hospital’s ex-principal Sandip Ghosh and four trainee doctors. The CBI, which visited the medical college on Friday, has also questioned three batchmates of the victim who were on duty on the night of the incident. Meanwhile, Ghosh moved the High Court seeking security as he claims threat to life.
Kolkata Police have arrested 25 people so far in connection with the vandalism at RG Kar Hospital on Wednesday night, which the BJP and doctors allege was an attempt to destroy evidence. The police said that the suspects were identified with the help of social media inputs, and the search is ongoing to catch the remaining individuals.
Meanwhile, an inquiry committee of the National Commission for Women (NCW) found lapses in the police investigation, as well as in the security and infrastructure of the hospital related to the rape and murder case. A 31-year-old second-year PG student was raped and killed inside the seminar hall of the hospital on August 9, and one person, a civic volunteer associated with the police, has been arrested.
-PTI
