Kolkata: Junior Doctors Hold Torch Rallies As SC Hearing On RG Kar Case Approaches, Top Cop Visits Hospital

Kolkata News: Junior doctors and civilians held torch rallies, demanding justice for the murdered R G Kar hospital doctor and improved security at state-run hospitals after the Sagore Dutta Hospital assault incident.

Junior medics from various government hospitals, accompanied by the general public, participated in torch rallies across the city on Sunday, demanding justice for the murdered R G Kar hospital doctor and enhanced security at their workplaces. This came a day before the Supreme Court was 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. Junior doctors and community members called for justice for the victim and highlighted the pressing need for improved safety measures for medical staff at state-run hospitals, news agency PTI reported. 

The movement comes after junior doctors had urged the public to hold protest rallies across the state on 27 September, ahead of the Supreme Court hearing scheduled for Monday. While the doctors had returned to work after a month-long agitation, they indicated on Saturday that they might resume a full 'cease work' in West Bengal's medical colleges, depending on the state government's assurances regarding their security during the court proceedings.

On Sunday evening, medics from the College of Medicine and Sagore Dutta Hospital organised a torch and candle march, protesting against an assault by outsiders following a patient's death on Friday night. As a result of the incident, junior doctors at the hospital went on strike, demanding appropriate security measures. 

Participants, including individuals from various professions, held candles and torches as they marched from Sagore Dutta Hospital to Dunlop Crossing, carrying banners reading, "No Security, No Work" and "No Safety, No Work", PTI's report stated.

Notably, the protest came after three doctors and three nurses were allegedly assaulted at Sagore Dutta Hospital following a patient’s death, with the junior doctors claiming that the government's failure to provide promised security was evident in these attacks.

Kolkata Police Commissioner Reviews Security Measures At RG Kar Hospital

Meanwhile, Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Verma visited R G Kar Medical College and Hospital on Sunday afternoon to review security measures ahead of the Supreme Court hearing. Verma interacted with police personnel and toured the hospital's emergency department. 

On 15 August, a mob vandalised the hospital's emergency department, just a day after the Calcutta High Court had ordered the transfer of the rape-murder investigation from Kolkata Police to the CBI. The city police are currently investigating the vandalism.

TMC leader Kunal Ghosh commented on the junior doctors' movement, saying, “The basic issue of junior doctors’ movement is ‘Justice for Abhaya or Tillotama’. We agree with them, and we also want justice to be carried out. The accused was arrested within 24 hours of the case coming to light by Kolkata Police. Now, the investigation is in the hands of the CBI and the case is with the Supreme Court.”

“They (junior doctors) are again talking about seizing their work. Poor and ordinary people go to government hospitals for treatment, so this demand of ‘cease work’ has become part of threat culture. Poor people will be harassed because of this and they will have to go to private hospitals,” he remarked.