Junior medics from various government hospitals in West Bengal, along with members of the public, participated in torch rallies across the city on Sunday, demanding justice for the murdered doctor of R G Kar Hospital and calling for improved security at their workplaces.
The demonstrations took place a day before the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the case involving the alleged rape-murder of the postgraduate trainee.
The rallies were organised from several key locations, including R G Kar hospital, Sagore Dutta hospital, SSKM hospital, Calcutta Medical College, and Jadavpur in south Kolkata.
Participants, including doctors and community members, emphasised the need for justice for the victim and heightened safety measures for medical staff in state-run facilities.
On September 27, junior doctors had urged the public to hold protests across the state in solidarity ahead of Monday’s Supreme Court hearing.
Having returned to work after a month-long agitation, the junior doctors on Saturday expressed their intention to consider resuming total ’cease work’ in medical colleges, contingent on the state government’s assurances regarding their safety during the upcoming court proceedings.
The rallies converged at various significant junctions throughout the city, such as Esplanade, Shyambazar, Park Circus, and Gariahat.
Organized by the West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front, an umbrella group representing medics from various medical college hospitals in the state, the rallies also highlighted the need to end a ”threat culture” in medical colleges, where students reportedly face intimidation.
At Sagore Dutta Hospital, junior doctors conducted a torch and candle march in protest of an assault by outsiders following a patient’s death on Friday night. This incident led the medics to go on strike, demanding proper security measures.
Participants held candles and torches as they marched from Sagore Dutta Hospital to Dunlop Crossing on the outskirts of Kolkata. The protests were sparked by an alleged assault on three doctors and three nurses at Sagore Dutta Hospital, which the medics claimed demonstrated the government’s failure to provide promised security.
Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Verma visited R G Kar Medical College and Hospital on Sunday afternoon to assess security measures ahead of the Supreme Court hearing. He interacted with police personnel and toured the hospital’s emergency department.
On August 15, a mob vandalised the hospital’s emergency department, a day after the Calcutta High Court ordered the transfer of the rape-murder probe from Kolkata Police to the CBI. The city police is currently investigating this incident.
Observing that allegations of a threat nexus existing in medical colleges is serious if even one or more of these are correct, the Calcutta High Court had on September 26 directed the state government to file an affidavit responding to the accusations made in a PIL.
The petitioners have alleged that they have come across multiple reports regarding existence of threat culture in state government-run medical colleges and hospitals, sale of answer keys for examinations, bribery, corruption, sexual harassment and abuse of medical students and junior doctors.
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