Kolkata: Agitating Junior Doctors Meet Bengal Chief Secretary To Resolve RG Kar Hospital Impasse

The West Bengal government is meeting striking junior doctors to resolve an ongoing 'cease work' stemming from a female doctor's death at RG Kar Hospital.

Kolkata News: The West Bengal government on Wednesday is having another meeting with agitating junior doctors, who have been on a 'cease work' since August 9 following the death of a woman doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, at the state secretariat. The meeting was in response to the junior doctors' request for a fresh round of talks with the administration to resolve the ongoing crisis.

Junior doctors of the West Bengal Junior Doctors Front arrived at Nabanna to meet the Chief Secretary.

Chief Secretary Manoj Pant, in his email to the protesting medics, reiterated the state's appeal for them to return to work amid the emerging flood-like situation in parts of South Bengal. He wrote, “You are aware that many districts of South Bengal are facing a flood-like situation with vast areas inundated. In light of the above situation, while we again appeal to you to join duties in the larger public interest and provide services to common people, I, along with the other members of the task force, will meet your delegation of 30 members at Nabanna Sabhaghar today at 6:30 pm.”

The junior doctors had earlier sent an email to the Chief Secretary at 11:19 am after concluding their general body meeting early Wednesday morning, seeking discussions on unresolved issues such as security in state-run hospitals and details on the formation and functioning of the promised task force. These issues were cited as prerequisites for ending their sit-in outside the state health department headquarters.

West Bengal Government's Moves To End RG Kar Hospital Impasse  

Despite the West Bengal government's efforts to resolve the standoff by appointing Manoj Kumar Verma as the new Kolkata Police Commissioner, replacing Vineet Goyal, and removing senior officials including Director of Health Services (DHS) Debashis Halder and Director of Medical Education (DME) Kaustav Nayak, the junior doctors have yet to decide on calling off their protest and rejoining work. The removal of Deputy Commissioner of Kolkata Police's North Division Abhishek Gupta, who had also been under scrutiny in the RG Kar hospital incident, was one of the key demands of the protesting medics.

Gupta, like Goyal, faced criticism in the aftermath of the incident for allegedly offering money to the parents of the deceased doctor soon after her body was found in the hospital seminar hall on August 9. The doctor’s parents had accused Gupta of handing them a plastic bag containing money, news agency PTI reported. Gupta has since been reassigned as Circle Officer of the 2nd Battalion of the Eastern Frontier Rifles (EFR), and has been replaced by Dipak Sarkar, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) in Siliguri.

In a further reshuffle, the state named Jawed Shamim as the Additional Director General (ADG) and Inspector General of Police (IGP) for Law & Order, while Gyanwant Singh was appointed as ADG and IGP of the Intelligence Bureau. Tripurari Atharv, previously ADG and IGP of the state Special Task Force (STF), was named the new Director of the Directorate of Economic Offences.

The junior doctors’ ongoing cease work began following the recovery of the woman doctor’s body with injuries, which led to public outrage and protests. The state government continues to engage with the protesting medics in hopes of ending the impasse.