Wednesday, 18 December 2024
Wednesday, 18 December 2024
A 31-year-old postgraduate trainee doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, who was on the night shift on Thursday, was found dead on Friday morning in a seminar hall in the building housing the Emergency department.
Students at RG Kar Medical College, where the victim was raped and murdered, led the charge, turning their grief into a forceful demand for justice.
A section of junior doctors at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital started a ceasework on Friday afternoon demanding that those involved in the alleged murder of the 31-year-old postgraduate trainee be arrested within 48 hours.
The protesters said on Friday night that the emergency room would remain functional but the other departments would be shut till their demands are met. Because of the agitation, many patients and relatives went away from the hospital without getting treatment.
On Friday evening the cops started a murder inquiry based on the preliminary findings. Students from across medical colleges in Calcutta have been holding multiple protest demonstrations in the city since Friday morning. The main demands of the students include, setting up a judicial inquiry committee to probe the death of the second-year postgraduate trainee, capital punishment of the culprit.
The Leftist organisations including SFI, DYFI and AIDWA held protest rallies at Shyambazar Five Point Crossing and Sodepur H.B Town crossing to BT Road Traffic Crossing. Protesters are not just demanding justice for the victim; they are also calling out the authorities as well as the ruling TMC government for their perceived complicity and failure to act.
State CPI(M) leaders Sujan Chakraborty, Dipsita Dhar, and Debanjan Dey met the parents of the victim on Saturday morning.
The SFI and DYFI, which are CPI(M)'s students' and youth wings respectively, said they will hold road blockades across West Bengal on Saturday and Sunday to protest the murder.
ABVP Kolkata Medical Students Unit held a sit-in at RG Kar Medical College, demanding a speedy, high-level investigation into the suspicious death of a second-year PGT student and lady doctor. They also called for a post-mortem to be conducted by an impartial central government institution.
The students claim, there were alleged attempts to cover up the death as suicide which may have influenced the post-mortem.
Beyond seeking justice, students are demanding systemic changes, including better security measures in government medical colleges. Their charter of demands include a proper duty room with attached toilets has to be set up for doctors, CCTV cameras in each of the departments and guards to be vigilant 24X7.
Students shall continue their protests until the accused is held accountable, refusing to let the terrible crime fade from public attention.
