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’s protesting doctors’ plan to distribute leaflets at pandals during the ongoing Durga Puja was vetoed by the police over concerns about crowd management. The police contend that the sensitive issue could upset people and lead to a law and order issue in the festive season. 

The doctors, a section of whom are on a hunger strike, wanted to reach out to the people and spread awareness about their demands from the state government. The protesters have been called to the state secretariat tonight for another round of discussion.

The escalation in doctors’ protest comes days after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met them and accepted most of their demands. 

The junior doctors have been on hunger strike since Saturday demanding justice for the 31-year-old doctor raped and murdered at the hospital premises on August 9.

They also want a clean-upo of the system — an alleged corruption-threat syndicate — and the formation of a  patient-friendly system and campus democracy.

Their other demands include the establishment of a centralised referral system for all hospitals and medical colleges in the state, 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. 

They are also demanding increased police protection in hospitals, recruitment of permanent women police personnel, and swift filling of vacant positions for doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers.

After four days of the junior doctors’ hunger strike, 50 senior doctors resigned yesterday in a show of support. 

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.)

Washington:

Thousands of members of the Indian community were protesting in more than 130 cities across 25 countries on Sunday, organisers said, to demand justice after last month’s rape and murder of a trainee doctor at a hospital in the city of Kolkata.

The protests started in large and small groups across Japan, Australia, Taiwan and Singapore, before spreading to cities in several European countries. Sixty were planned in the U.S.

They added to ongoing protests around India after the August 9 killing of the 31-year-old postgraduate student of chest medicine.

A suspect has been arrested along with the former principal of R.G. Kar Medical College where the victim was studying.

At one of the protests in the Swedish capital Stockholm, scores of mainly black-clad women gathered in Sergels Torg square to sing songs in Bengali and hold signs, demanding accountability for the crime and safety for Indian women.

“The news of this heinous crime committed on a young trainee doctor while on duty numbed and shocked each of us at the sheer ruthlessness, brutality and disregard of human life,” said Dipti Jain, an organiser of the global protests.

Ms Jain, now a British citizen and alumni of the Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital, had last month organised a female doctors protest in the UK.

The Supreme Court has listed the next hearing of the trainee’s case for Monday.

Although tougher laws were introduced after the 2012 gruesome gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a moving bus in New Delhi, activists say the Kolkata case shows how women continue to suffer from sexual violence.

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

Kolkata:

West Bengal Medical Council (WBMC), on Saturday, announced the suspension of three doctors who are known to be close confidants of the former and controversial Principal of R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital, Sandip Ghosh.

The three doctors include the erstwhile Resident Medical Officer (RMO) of radiodiagnosis department of Burdwan Medical College, Avik De, former senior resident doctor attached to the pathology department of the same hospital, Birupaksha Biswas, and junior doctor of Midnapore Medical College & Hospital, Mustafizur Rahaman Mallick.

The common allegation against all three of them is using their closeness to Sandip Ghosh and the leaders of the ruling dispensation to threaten and harass junior doctors at their respective workplaces.

On September 5, the West Bengal Health Department announced the suspension of both De and Biswas from state medical services. Besides suspension De is also facing a departmental probe initiated against him.

On the other hand, the suspension order for Biswas was issued just a day after he was transferred from Burdwan Medical College in East Burdwan district to Kakdwip Sub-divisional Hospital in South 24 Parganas district.

Since the incident of the rape and murder of a junior doctor of R.G Kar surfaced, several junior doctors have accused De and Biswas, both confidants of Sandip Ghosh, of introducing “threat culture” where junior doctors and interns were threatened by them to act as directed.

Recently, there were protests by junior doctors at Midnapore Medical College & Hospital against Mallick on the same charges of running a “threat culture” in the same hospital.

Some members of the medical fraternity have claimed that the council should have taken steps against the three doctors and at least cautioned them much before, since the complaints of threatening and harassing junior doctors against them is nothing new.

On Saturday, the council also issued a show-cause notice to Sandip Ghosh, who is currently in CBI’s custody because of his alleged links with the financial irregularities at R.G. Kar.

His registration might be cancelled if he fails to give any reply to the show-cause notice within the next three days.

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

Lucknow:

BSP supremo Mayawati on Thursday said incidents of crime against women were “extremely worrying”, and asked political parties to rise above party politics and take “strict steps” to prevent them.

Her remarks come against the backdrop of the nationwide outcry over the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata and also cases of rape of girls in other parts of the country.

“The incidents of rape, murder and suicide, especially of innocent girls and women, happening in Bengal, Badlapur in Maharashtra, Bihar, and Kannauj, Agra and Farrukhabad districts of Uttar Pradesh are extremely sad and worrying,” the former chief minister said on X.

1. देश में कभी बंगाल, कभी महाराष्ट्र के बदलापुर, कभी बिहार में तो कभी यूपी के कन्नौज, आगरा व फर्रूखाबाद ज़िले आदि में भी मासूम बच्चियों नाबालिग़ व महिलाओं पर ख़ासकर रेप, हत्या व आत्महत्या आदि की हो रही घटनाएं अति-दुःखद व चिन्ताजनक। 1/2

— Mayawati (@Mayawati) August 29, 2024

“The Centre and all state governments should rise above party politics and take strict steps in this matter so that such incidents stop happening. Politics should not be done in its guise. This is the need of the hour and also in the interest of women,” she added.

2. केन्द्र व सभी राज्य सरकारें, इस मामले में दलगत राजनीति से ऊपर उठकर सख़्त कदम उठाएं, ताकि ऐसी घटनायें जल्दी होना बन्द हो, ना कि इसकी आड़ में राजनीति की जाए, यही समय की मांग है तथा यही महिलाओं के हित में भी है। 2/2

— Mayawati (@Mayawati) August 29, 2024

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

Kolkata:

The Kolkata Police have made massive security arrangements for the protest march “Nabannno Abhijan”, anticipating violence during the protest in the city today. Nabanno is the state secretariat, from where the Government of West Bengal operates. It houses the offices of the Chief Minister and other top ministers and officials. 

The protest march to the state secretariat has been announced by an unregistered body claiming to be a students’ organisation, to demand justice for the rape-murder of the 31-year-old doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College on August 9. 

The police say they have uncovered evidence of a conspiracy to create trouble and anarchy in West Bengal by “misusing the anger of well-meaning citizens”.

The state police claim they have information that one of individuals who called for the “Nabanna Abhijan” has met the leader of a political party at a prominent Five Star hotel. The police also claim that they have specific intelligence of a conspiracy to create largescale chaos and anarchy to provoke the police into using force. 

More than 6,000 policemen will be deployed to maintain law and order and 19 points have been identified for barricading, a top official has told NDTV. Around 26 Deputy Commissioners of Police will be posted at various points.

The barricading will start at 8 am with major deployment of forces at places like Hastings, Furlong Gate, Strand Road and Kolkata’s twin city Howrah. 

The Trinamool Congress has hit out at the BJP over the call for a “Nabanna Abhijan”. 

The BJP has claimed that under pressure, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has turned to her last line of defense – the police.

The police say they have made special arrangements for students who will be appearing for the UGCNET exams to get to their examination centres.

It is ironic that an organisation that claims to be a student body is planning to cause disruption on a day thousands of students are appearing for exams across centres in the city, the police said. 

The shocking rape-murder has sparked protests by the medical community across the country. In Bengal, thousands of doctors have been on strike since the August 9 incident and have refused to return to work despite appeals from the Supreme Court and the state government.
 

Kolkata:

The anti-corruption branch of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted searches on Sunday at multiple locations connected to former RG Kar Medical College principal Sandip Ghosh and his relatives in West Bengal’s Kolkata.

According to CBI sources, searches were underway at 15 locations across the city related to Dr Ghosh and his relatives.

A CBI team also reached the residence of Dr Debashish Som, Demonstrator of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, on Sunday morning, they said.

These actions follow a complaint filed three days earlier by Akhtar Ali, former Deputy Superintendent of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, alleging corruption and irregularities at the institution and specifically naming Dr Debashish Som.

On Saturday, the CBI filed a First Information Report (FIR) against Dr Sandip Ghosh based on directives from the Calcutta High Court. The investigation was initiated after a single bench of the High Court ordered the CBI to probe the alleged corruption at the medical college.

Earlier, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) from the Calcutta High Court visited the CBI office at Nizam Palace and handed over crucial documents related to the case. Acting promptly on this information, the CBI filed the FIR and submitted a copy to the Alipur Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Court on Saturday.

The Calcutta High Court has granted the CBI three weeks to submit a progress report on the investigation, which is to be presented on September 17.

Earlier, on Tuesday, the Supreme Court ordered the security of Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital to be handed over to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) while hearing the suo motu case concerning the rape and murder of the trainee doctor.

The trainee doctor was found dead in the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on August 9.

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