Kolkata:

The continuing protests by the junior doctors of West Bengal against the ghastly rape and murder of a junior woman doctor of R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata in August this year are not in self-interest but in the larger public interest, Indian Medical Association’s (IMA) national President R.V. Asokan said on Friday.

“The junior doctors are protesting against the rampant corruption in the healthcare system. They are speaking against the lack of safety at their workplaces which are hospitals. They are not carrying their protests out of self-interest… Their protests are in the larger public interest. They have really touched my heart. I want to say that IMA is beside them,” R.V. Asokan said after reaching the dais at Esplanade in central Kolkata where six junior doctors are continuing their fast-unto-death protests in support of their demands on the issue.

However, at the same time, R.V. Asokan requested the fasting doctors to withdraw their agitation.

“Life comes first. Do not adopt the extreme step,” he was heard appealing to the doctors on hunger strike.

Already Aniket Mahato, one of the seven junior doctors who were conducting the fast-unto-death agitation, had been admitted at R.G. Kar after Thursday midnight after his medical conditions deteriorated sharply. The panel of doctors attending him had claimed that although his condition had slightly improved from what it was on Thursday, he was yet to be out of the crisis.

Meanwhile, the medical conditions of the remaining six junior doctors who are continuing their hunger, namely Tanaya Panja, Snigdha Hazra, Sayantani Ghosh Hazra, Anushtup Mukhopadhyay, Arnab Mukhopadhyay, and Pulastya Acharya, too have started showing deteriorations. While ketone bodies have been detected in their urine, their blood pressure levels have started fluctuating and pulse rates are high.

“Even Aniket initially refused to get admitted to the hospital last night. But we somehow convinced him. The state government can choose to act in an inhuman manner. But we have the responsibility towards our colleague,” said Debasish Halder, one of the principal faces of the junior doctors’ movement on this issue.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Kolkata:

The junior doctors, protesting over the rape and murder of their colleague at the RG Kar hospital, went on fast unto death on Saturday evening, claiming that their demands were not fulfilled by the West Bengal government.

With three days left before the Durga Puja festivities start, the doctors had on Friday begun a sit-in demonstration at the Dorina Crossing in Dharmatala in the heart of Kolkata, setting a 24-hour deadline for the state government to fulfil their demands.

“The state government has failed the deadline and hence we are starting the fast unto death, which will continue till our demands are fulfilled. To maintain transparency, we have installed CCTV cameras at the dais where our colleagues are holding the fast,” a junior doctor said.

“We joined duty last night but will not eat anything,” he said, adding that at present six junior doctors were sitting on fast.

The six doctors who were sitting on the fast were identified as Snigdha Hazra, Tanaya Panja and Anustup Mukhopadhyay of Kolkata Medical College and Hospital, SSKM’s Arnab Mukhopadhyay, Pulastha Acharya of NRS Medical College and Hospital, and Sayantani Ghosh Hazra of KPC Medical College.

The state would be held responsible if any doctor fell ill during the fast, the junior doctor said.

“We have the support of the people, and that is the reason we are not scared of any sort of hindrances by the administration. We will continue our hunger strike until our demands are met,” he added.

A large number of common people and a few celebrities were present at the protest site in the evening.

The junior doctors had on Friday night called off their ‘total cease work’, which had crippled healthcare services at state-run medical colleges and hospitals.

Earlier in the day, the medics alleged the police were not allowing them to set up the dais.

Kolkata Police had denied the junior doctors’ request for permission for the sit-in, stating that the road witnesses heavy traffic flow.

The protesting doctors had also alleged that they were baton-charged by the police on Friday night.

Promising “necessary action”, Kolkata Police in an e-mail asked them to identify the police personnel involved and lodge a complaint.

“With reference to the allegation of physical assault, the matter is being enquired. However, you are requested to direct the doctor/person who has allegedly been assaulted to lodge a formal complaint at the concerned Police Station, necessary action will be taken in accordance with the law,” the mail said.

The protesters emphasised that securing justice for the woman medic remains their foremost priority.

Among the other nine demands, they called for the immediate removal of Health Secretary NS Nigam, as well as accountability for the alleged administrative incompetence and corruption within the Health Department.

Other demands include the establishment of a centralised referral system for all hospitals and medical colleges in the state, the implementation of a bed vacancy monitoring system, and the formation of task forces to ensure essential provisions for CCTV, on-call rooms, and washrooms at their workplaces.

Furthermore, they are advocating increased police protection in hospitals, the recruitment of permanent women police personnel, and the swift filling of vacant positions for doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers.

The junior doctors went on “cease work” following the rape-murder of a fellow medic at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9.They ended their stir after 42 days on September 21 following assurances from the state government of looking into their demands

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Kolkata:

Trinamool Congress leader Ashish Pandey who has been putting up at a hotel in Salt Lake since August 9 is currently under Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) scanner, which is probing the rape and murder of a junior female doctor of R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata.

Incidentally, the body of the junior female doctor was discovered at the seminar hall within the hospital premises on the morning of August 9 only.

Sources said that the investigating agency came to know of Mr Pandey putting up at the Salt Lake on the night of August 9 by examining a number of mobile phones which were under their scanner as a part of the investigation.

Mr Pandey is also a house staff of the same hospital.

After coming to know of Mr Pandey putting up at the said hotel, the CBI officials issued a notice to the hotel authorities asking to send an employee along with the booking register of the hotel to the agency’s Salt Lake office.

One of the staff members of the hotel arrived at the CBI office on Thursday along with the booking register and other related documents and submitted the same to the investigating agency.

It is learnt that Mr Pandey booked the room in the hotel for the night of August 9 through a hotel booking app. It is further learnt that Mr Pandey had checked in the hotel on the night of August 9 and checked out on the next morning.

However, the investigating officials are yet to inform about the event of Mr Pandey’s booking hotel room and the rape and murder case of the female doctor.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)