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Thousands of doctors and post-graduate students held strikes across the country to protest over the rape and murder of a 31-year-old woman trainee doctor, whose body was found in Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, last week and triggered shockwaves.
Members of the Resident Doctors' Association (RDA) of Delhi's AIIMS put forth six demands, including the need to hand over the case to the CBI for an inquiry, strict action against the culprits, adequate compensation to the victim's family, termination of principal and security in-charge of the hospital, written assurance from Central Government for implementation of Central Protection Act for doctors, and the declaration of a building or library in institute in her name.
The trainee doctor was found in a seminar hall at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital with injury marks on her body, and an autopsy later confirmed that she was raped before being murdered. The accused, a civic volunteer, was arrested on August 10 (Saturday) and has been sent to 14-day police custody.
The civic volunteer was not officially associated with RG Kar Medical College and Hospital but was known to frequent the premises.
Dr Sandip Ghosh, the principal of RG Kar Medical College, resigned as junior doctors, interns and postgraduate trainees of the facility continued their strike for the fourth day on Monday, demanding a magisterial inquiry into the rape and murder of a 31-year-old woman trainee doctor.
The doctors and medical students had been demanding the resignation of Dr Ghosh. Speaking to reporters, Ghosh said that he was "getting defamed on social media" following the heinous crime, adding that the victim was "like my daughter".
"As a parent, I resign. This should not happen to anyone in the future," he added.
Patients faced inconvenience as the outdoor centres of RG Kar College and Hospital remained closed due to protests by doctors and medical students over the incident.
Over the past three days, junior doctors had been attending to emergency duties, but as of Monday morning, they have ceased even those responsibilities, sources told news agency PTI.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has vowed to seek the death penalty for the accused. She said she would transfer the case to the CBI if the Kolkata Police were not able to crack the case by Sunday (August 18).
Meanwhile, Kolkata Police's detective department questioned three doctors and one housekeeping staff member working at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in the rape-murder case.
According to police sources, those who were questioned were - an intern doctor, two trainee doctors who are first-year post-graduate students from the chest medicine department and a housekeeping staff member.
The four people summoned were on night duty on August 9, the day when the semi-nude body of the trainee doctor was recovered, they said. Some of them had joined the victim for dinner before the incident.
The incident sparked widespread outcry in West Bengal and other states, with medical students and doctors holding protests to hold those responsible accountable.
Meanwhile, doctors at ten government hospitals in Delhi, including Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital, went on a strike over the Kolkata trainee doctor's rape and murder and all elective services were suspended.
The Maulana Azad Medical College, RML Hospital, Lady Hardinge Medical College, VMMC and Safdarjung Hospital, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital, GTB, IHBAS, Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar Medical College, and National Institute of TB and Respiratory Diseases Hospital are participating in the strike, which began at 9 am, according to a statement by the Resident Doctors' Associations (RDA).
The protesting doctors demanded a CBI inquiry into the matter and the security of medical practitioners in hospitals across the country.
While OPD services were stopped due to the protest, emergency services at the hospitals will continue.
Kolkata Police urged people not to share or believe facts related to the rape and murder case, saying they were "unfounded rumours".
In a statement, the police said such rumours would obstruct the investigation and cause more distress to the victim's family.
"We are committed to ensuring a thorough investigation and the rampant spread of misinformation will only make our job more difficult," the police said.
"We are in active dialogue with the victim's family and fully dedicated to ensuring swift justice. We assure the people that our investigation is proceeding in the right direction and will do whatever it takes to file an early chargesheet and ensure a speedy trial," it added.
