Kolkata woman doctor death: Junior doctors cease work in government-run medical colleges and hospitals in Bengal

The junior doctors at R G Kar also stated they did not want to politicise the issue and chanted ‘Go Back Slogans” when INTUC workers started protesting in front of the hospital

Written by Ravik Bhattacharya

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Kolkata | Updated: August 10, 2024 07:21 PM IST

2 min read

Doctor ,Student ,nurse protest at RG Kar hospital in connection with doctor death.

Protest at RG Kar hospital in connection with the junior doctor's death. (Express Photo by Partha Paul)

The protest against the alleged rape and murder of a junior woman doctor in Kolkata’s R G Kar Medical College and Hospital spread to most state-run medical colleges and hospitals in West Bengal on Saturday.

Demanding justice for the victim and enhanced safety in hospital premises, junior doctors, a section of resident doctors, house staff, interns, and post-graduate trainee doctors at Calcutta Medical College, NRS Medical College, National Medical College, Sagar Dutta Medical College in Kolkata, among others, have started a ‘cease work’ protest. Only emergency and in-house patient departments are functioning in most government-run hospitals.

Meanwhile, junior doctors at the R G Kar Medical College and Hospital squatted at the main gate of the hospital and raised slogans, such as ‘No Safety, No Duty’.

“We demand justice for the victim. We want a judicial probe into the incident. We want the administration to ensure safety for all of us. There are no CCTVs where the incident took place. In many places, CCTVs lay defunct. There are no proper on-duty restrooms for us,” said one of the agitating junior doctors who did not wish to be named.

The junior doctors at R G Kar also stated they did not want to politicise the issue and chanted ‘Go Back Slogans’ when INTUC workers started protesting over the woman doctor’s death in front of the hospital.

Another protesting junior doctor said, “We want a proper transparent investigation and the arrest of the culprit within 48 hours. A fast-track court should be set up and the culprit should be awarded the capital punishment.”

He further said, “The college authorities should brief student representatives about the details of the case. CCTVs should be installed in respective departments as per requirement and 24×7 security coverage must be provided… Further, proper security personnel should be deployed in all hostels.”

Ravik Bhattacharya

Ravik Bhattacharya is the Chief of Bureau of The Indian Express, Kolkata. Over 20 years of experience in the media industry and covered politics, crime, major incidents and issues, apart from investigative stories in West Bengal, Odisha, Assam and Andaman Nicobar islands. Ravik won the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award in 2007 for political reporting. Ravik holds a bachelor degree with English Hons from Scottish Church College under Calcutta University and a PG diploma in mass communication from Jadavpur University. Ravik started his career with The Asian Age and then moved to The Statesman, The Telegraph and Hindustan Times. ... Read More

Atri Mitra

Atri Mitra is a Special Correspondent of The Indian Express with more than 20 years of experience in reporting from West Bengal, Bihar and the North-East. He has been covering administration and political news for more than ten years and has a keen interest in political development in West Bengal. Atri holds a Master degree in Economics from Rabindrabharati University and Bachelor's degree from Calcutta University. He is also an alumnus of St. Xavier's, Kolkata and Ramakrishna Mission Asrama, Narendrapur. He started his career with leading vernacular daily the Anandabazar Patrika, and worked there for more than fifteen years. He worked as Bihar correspondent for more than three years for Anandabazar Patrika. He covered the 2009 Lok Sabha election and 2010 assembly elections. He also worked with News18-Bangla and covered the Bihar Lok Sabha election in 2019. ... Read More

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