Kolkata Rape-Murder: Top Doctors Write To PM Modi, Seek Protection For Healthcare Workers — Check Demands

In the letter to PM Modi, the doctors have expressed anguish and demanded quick enactment of a special law to deal with violence against healthcare personnel.

Doctors protest against the alleged rape and murder of a trainee doctor at Kolkata?s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, near Nirman Bhawan in New Delhi, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024.

Source : PTI

Kolkata Rape Case: Amid the protests and the CBI investigation in the rape and murder case of a trainee doctor in the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, over 70 Padma awardee doctors have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In the letter, the doctors have expressed anguish and demanded quick enactment of a special law to deal with violence against healthcare personnel and implementation of improved safety protocols in medical facilities.

The awardee doctors include Radiologist and founder and managing Director of Mahajan Imaging Dr. Harsh Mahajan, Dr. Nikhil Tandon, head of the department of endocrinology at AIIMS, Delhi, Dr. D S Rana, Chairman of the Department of Nephrology at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital and Dr. Sandeep Guleria, Transplant Specialist Surgeon.

RG Kar Medical College Rape-Murder: Here Are Doctors Demands  

1. The renowned doctors like Ashok Vaid, Harsh Mahajan, Anoop Misra, A K Grover, Alka Kriplani, and Mohsin Wali have sought PM Modi's "immediate and personal intervention" to address the "alarming" situation, as reported by news agency PTI.
2. The medics have suggested the Centre bring an ordinance immediately to ensure the "harshest possible punishment" to those who indulge in violence against healthcare workers, whether verbal or physical.
3. The Indian Medical Association (IMA) and other doctors' bodies are pressing for a central law to ensure the safety of medics. The eminent doctors also urged stricter enforcement of existing laws and enhanced safety measures in hospitals and medical institutions.
4. Among those who have written the letter are former Director General of ICMR Dr Balram Bhargav, former AIIMS Delhi Director Dr Randeep Guleria, and Dr S K Sarin, Director of the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences. “We, the Padma Awardee doctors, write to you with deep concern and profound anguish regarding the horrific events that recently occurred at RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata. As the head of our nation, we implore your immediate and personal intervention to address this alarming situation," the letter said, as quoted by PTI.
5. The doctors have also stated that such acts of brutality shake the very foundations of service by medical professionals and highlight the urgent need to address violence, particularly against women, girls, and healthcare professionals.
6. The doctors emphasised that stronger measures are desperately needed to prevent such atrocities. "We call upon law enforcement agencies, policymakers, and society at large to take immediate and decisive action," the letter said.
7. The doctors underscored the need for law enforcement agencies to more rigorously apply current legal frameworks to protect healthcare professionals and advocated for severe and swift penalties to serve as a deterrent against such crimes.
8. In the letter, the top medics urge that the central government should implement improved safety protocols within healthcare facilities to ensure a secure working environment for all medical staff.
9. The doctors also stressed that the proposed ordinance/bill should ensure that the harshest possible punishment is given to those who indulge in violence against healthcare workers, whether verbal or physical. Such cases should be resolved swiftly by the judiciary, with offences categorised as non-bailable.