Kolkata Doctor Rape and Murder Case: Decry bid to stop movement for justice, say parents of murdered doctor

The West Bengal government on Saturday announced a slew of measures to ensure the safety of women in workplaces, particularly at state-run hospitals, where they have to work on night shifts, too, including designated retiring rooms and CCTV-monitored ‘safe zones'.

Chief Advisor to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Alapan Bandyopadhyay, announced the measures during a press meet here, amid continuing protests by doctors across the state against the alleged rape and murder of a medic at RG Kar hospital.

Apart from hospitals and medical colleges, hostels and other places engaging women during night shifts will now come under the ambit of a flagship programme ‘Rattirer Sathi – Helpers of the Night', comprising volunteers, he said.

The state government has also decided to develop a mobile app with alarm devices, which can be downloaded by women and used for communication with the respective local police stations in case of any emergency.

Bandyopadhyay said “breath analyser tests” will be carried out at medical colleges and hospitals in the city and districts.

Night police patrolling will also be put in place at all medical colleges, hospitals and women's hostels.

“Wherever possible, night duty may be avoided for women. We hope these measures are implemented at the earliest,” he added. (PTI)

The CBI will conduct a psychological assessment of Sanjay Roy, the accused in a rape-and-murder case of a doctor in Kolkata that has triggered nationwide protests, officials said on Saturday.

A team of psychological and behavioural analysts from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) in Delhi has arrived in Kolkata to conduct the necessary tests, they said.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has already taken Roy into custody.

The federal agency questioned Dr Sandip Ghosh, the former principal of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, where the incident took place, for a second consecutive day on Saturday in connection with the alleged rape and killing of the trainee doctor.

The agency had taken Ghosh for questioning on Friday and it continued till 1:40 am on Saturday.

The body of the 31-year-old postgraduate trainee doctor, who was allegedly raped and killed inside a seminar hall of the state-run hospital, was found on August 9. Roy, a civic volunteer, was arrested in this connection.

The victim's parents had moved the Calcutta High Court, seeking a court-monitored investigation in the case. Several other public interest litigation (PIL) pleas were also filed, demanding a CBI probe into the incident.

A preliminary autopsy report suggested that the victim was sexually abused and killed. It said she was bleeding from her eyes, mouth and private parts. There were also injuries on her left leg, neck, right hand, ring finger and lips. (PTI)

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Saturday said the vandalism at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital was an attempt to "cover up the truth", and called for ensuring justice to the woman trainee doctor who was raped and murdered at the health facility last week.

On Thursday early morning, a group of people vandalised the emergency department, nursing unit and medicine store, and damaged CCTV cameras as a large number of people, including medics, were protesting against the incident.

West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee on Friday accused opposition CPI(M) and BJP in the state of orchestrating vandalism at the hospital and attempting to obscure the truth behind the rape and murder of the trainee doctor by spreading fake news on social media.

In a post on X, Yechury said, "This vandalism on doctors protesting against the horrific rape and murder of a fellow doctor in RG Kar Medical College is a disgraceful attempt to silence justice and cover up the truth".

"We must stand together against such barbarism and ensure that justice is delivered," he said. (PTI)

Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday demanded justice for the trainee doctor raped and murdered at a government hospital in Kolkata while stating that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has become "nirmam" (ruthless) and "jungle raj" prevailed in her state.

The rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on August 9 has caused nationwide outrage, sparking protests by doctors across the country.

During a demonstration against the heinous crime in the early hours of August 15, a mob ransacked parts of the hospital.

Talking to reporters, Chouhan said the incident was a blot on the face of civilised India.

"The chief minister of that state (West Bengal) should be ashamed that such an incident happened, and those who were protesting against it were attacked for the protest," he said, demanding justice for doctors.

"Mamataji has become 'nirmam' (ruthless) in West Bengal. There is jungle raj. The situation should change. The victim should get justice, and the accused should be punished," he said. (PTI)

With each passing day, a doctors' strike over the alleged rape and killing of one of their colleagues in a Kolkata hospital is gaining momentum as major private hospitals in Delhi joined the protest on Saturday, shutting down their OPDs, elective surgeries and IPD services.

Resident doctors in the capital have been on an indefinite strike since Monday. As the strike entered its sixth day on Saturday, private hospitals also joined the protest alongside government hospitals.

Hospitals like Sir Ganga Ram, Fortis and Apollo have halted their OPD, elective surgeries and IPD services.

Fortis Hospitals, in a statement, said, "We are deeply saddened and shocked by the horrific incident in Kolkata. Such acts of violence, particularly against those who dedicate their lives to healing others, are deplorable and call for swift justice.

"At Fortis Hospitals, we stand in solidarity with the Indian Medical Association and the wider medical community in condemning this act. We respect the sentiments of our doctors and will support those who wish to participate in the nationwide shutdown. Essential services will continue to be provided to ensure that patient care is not compromised." Resident doctors from all major hospitals in Delhi have been protesting, taking out marches and holding candlelight vigils demanding justice for the Kolkata victim and over safety concerns.

Earlier, doctors from private hospitals also protested by wearing black bands on their arms.

OPDs at the Apollo Hospital are shut and only emergency services are being provided, according to sources at the facility. "Apollo has also joined the protest," a source said. (PTI)

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Saturday condemned the alleged rape and murder of a doctor at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, while appealing to protesting medics to return to work for the sake of the patients.

Healthcare services were affected in Jharkhand during the day, as doctors joined the Indian Medical Association's nationwide call for the withdrawal of non-emergency services for 24 hours from 6 am on Saturday.

Soren also said he has directed the DGP to take strict steps to ensure the safety of all the staff working in state hospitals.

"No matter how much the incident in Bengal is condemned, it is less. The Bengal government and the agencies of the central government are working hard to ensure that the culprits are punished as severely as possible,” the CM said in a post in Hindi on X.

"I would like to appeal to all the doctors in the state that your government stands with you in this hour of grief, but the treatment of patients is also very important. Please return to work and give your meaningful cooperation in making the patients healthy," he said.

Members of the IMA, the Jharkhand State Health Association (JHSA), the Association of Healthcare Providers, among others, took out a march in Ranchi on Saturday in protest against the Kolkata incident. (PTI)

Medical services were hit across Bihar on Saturday as doctors struck work in protest against the brutal rape and murder of a young lady doctor in Kolkata last week.

The strike, which, however, did not affect emergency services, was part of a nationwide stir organized by the Indian Medical Association.

"The strike which began today at 6 AM will continue for 24 hours. During this period there will be no routine OPDs or elective surgery", said IMA Bihar chapter's chief patron Sahajanand Prasad Singh.

He, however, made it clear that "all essential services will be maintained and casualties will be manned" at hospitals across the state during the period of the strike called in protest against the horrific incident that took place inside a medical college of the eastern metropolis.

Besides the state capital where patients from across Bihar are referred to hospitals like AIIMS, IGIMS and PMCH, reports of health services being hit have come from districts like Purnea and Begusarai. (PTI)

A group of Indian doctors and medical students in the UK have issued an open letter this weekend demanding justice for the postgraduate trainee doctor who was brutally raped and murdered at R G Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata.

The letter condemns the "brutal rape and murder of an on-duty female doctor” at the hospital and the “inaction” of the West Bengal government in its response to the incident last week.

The letter follows a peaceful protest staged outside India House in London and similar gatherings in UK cities such as Edinburgh and Leeds in solidarity with the doctors protesting in India.

“The absence of investment in public infrastructure and safety measures has a disproportionate impact on women, who are already marginalised by the patriarchal social conditions. Instead of supporting their empowerment by creating safe workplaces and efficient judicial mechanisms, government leaders, including Mamata Banerjee, have historically indulged in victim-blaming and misogynist responses,” it notes.

Further protests are planned in the UK, with a peaceful demonstration by British Indian women doctors at Parliament Square in London near the Mahatma Gandhi statue, scheduled for August 22. (PTI)