Kolkata: Junior medics from various government hospitals accompanied by the general public participated in torch rallies across the city on Sunday, September 29 demanding justice for the murdered R G Kar hospital doctor and security at their workplaces, a day before the Supreme Court is set to hear the case involving the alleged rape-murder of the postgraduate trainee.
The rallies were organised from R G Kar hospital, Sagore Dutta Hospital, SSKM Hospital, Calcutta Medical College, and Jadavpur in south Kolkata.
Participating in the rallies, medics, and community members called for justice for the victim and emphasised the need for enhanced safety and security for medical staff at state-run hospitals.
On September 27, the junior doctors had urged the public to hold protest rallies across the state in solidarity ahead of Monday’s Supreme Court hearing.
Having gone back to work after a month-long agitation, the junior doctors on Saturday expressed their intention to consider resuming total ‘cease work’ in West Bengal’s medical colleges, contingent on the state government’s assurances regarding their safety during the upcoming court proceedings.
On Sunday evening, medics from the College of Medicine and Sagore Dutta Hospital organised a torch and candle march, protesting an assault by outsiders following a patient’s death on Friday night. The junior doctors there have gone on strike after the incident, insisting on proper security measures.
Participants, including people from various professions, held candles and torches as they marched from Sagore Dutta Hospital to Dunlop Crossing on the outskirts of Kolkata. The junior doctors carried banners stating ‘No Security, No Work’ and ‘No Safety, No Work.”
Three doctors and three nurses were allegedly assaulted at Sagore Dutta hospital after a patient’s death, leading the medics to claim that these attacks 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.
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