‘Will Resume Protest If...': Kolkata Doctors Warn After March Demanding CBI To Fast-Track RG Kar Probe
The junior doctors called off their strike and will return to work on Saturday, September 20. However, only the emergency services will resume and the OPD services will remain suspended.
After announcing partial withdrawl of cease-work, the West Bengal Junior Doctors Front on Friday marched from Swasthya Bhawan in Kolkata's Salt Lake area to the Central Bureau of Investigation's office in CGO complex, demanding to fast-track the investigation into the rape and murder of the trainee doctor at state-run RG Kar Hospital last month. Following the march, the doctors warned that though they had partially called-off the strike they would resume their protest if justice is not delivered.
The junior doctors called off their strike earlier today and are set to return to work on Saturday, September 20. However, only the emergency and essential services will resume and the Outpatient Department (OPD) services will remain suspended.
The procession covered a distance of almost four kilometres from the Swasthya Bhawan to the CGO Complex.
#WATCH | RG Kar Rape and Murder Case | West Bengal Junior Doctors Front holds a protest march from Swasthya Bhawan in Kolkata's Salt Lake area to the CGO complex demanding the CBI to fast-track the investigation.
— ANI (@ANI) September 20, 2024
Junior doctors called off their strike and will return to work on… pic.twitter.com/iCXQG4oSJR
The Doctors Front also held a press conference outside CBI office in Kolkata. The doctors stated that they have stopped their sit-in protest due to the ongoing flood situation. The medics said they will serve in flood-affected areas starting tomorrow and will wait until the next Supreme Court hearing to decide whether they would resume protests or not.
"We are stopping our sit-in protest due to flood situation. We will serve in flood-affected areas from tomorrow but our protest will not stop. We will continue this in all medical colleges & hospitals. We will see till the next Supreme Court hearing. If we don't get justice, we will start our protest again," they said.
The doctors had called the cease work and staged a sit-in outside the state health department headquarters seeking justice for the junior doctor.
Thousands Hold Torch Rally In Kolkata To Demand Justice For RG Kar Medic
Meanwhile, thousands of people from all sections of the society on Friday participated in a torch rally from Highland Park in the southern fringes of Kolkata, demanding justice for the the doctor.
Doctors, cartoonists, members of voluntary bodies and associations of specially abled people, IT professionals, scientists, and professors participated in the 42-km march. Supporters of football clubs Mohun Bagan and East Bengal also took part in the rally.
They held flaming torches and raised slogans in solidarity with the postgraduate doctor, whose body was discovered in the seminar hall of RG Kar hospital on August 9.
The procession will pass through Ruby Crossing, VIP Bazar, Science City, Chingrighata and take a detour via Beleghata, NRS Medical College, Chittaranjan National Medical College, Mallick Bazar and SSKM Hospital before concluding at Shyambazar.
Rimjhim Sinha, a young researcher, stressed that their movement seeking justice for the Kolkata doctor is not over. "We will not rest unless all those involved in the brutal attack on our sister are identified and punished," PTI quoted her as saying.
Previously, three similar rallies - ‘Women, Reclaim the Night’ - have been held in the Bengal capital since August 14 over the RG Kar doctor's death.
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