Hundreds of junior doctors squatted on a thoroughfare in central Calcutta till late on Monday demanding the resignation of Vineet Goyal as the commissioner of Kolkata Police.

The doctors, who have been on a cease-work since a colleague was found raped and murdered at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9, started their march to Lalbazar from College Square in the afternoon.

The police stopped them at the intersection of BB Ganguly Street and Phears Lane, about 250m from Lalbazar. The doctors were demanding that they be allowed to march at least till the Bentinck Street-BB Ganguly Street crossing, from where a delegation would go to meet the top cop.

The doctors, who sat on BB Ganguly street, said they would vacate the road immediately if Goyal resigned. Police sources said Goyal was at Lalbazar during the protest.

The protest continued past midnight and the junior doctors vowed not to relent.

Goyal’s resignation was one of the five demands of the protesting doctors. The other four were:

• Identification and action against all those involved in the rape and murder. The motive must be brought to light.
• The health department must suspend Sandip Ghosh, who was the RG Kar principal till a couple of days after the crime was committed.
• Safety of all healthcare workers in healthcare settings.
• End of the reign of fear at medical colleges.

Ghosh was arrested by the anti-corruption bureau of the CBI on Monday on charges of financial irregularities. The protesting junior doctors welcomed Ghosh’s arrest — they loudly cheered the news — but made it clear that the cease-work would continue till all their demands were met.

“We are wondering why the state health department has yet to suspend Ghosh,” said a junior doctor.

Aniket Mahato, a postgraduate trainee at RG Kar, said Ghosh’s arrest could not be a reason to ignore the demands they have been raising.

“We are seeking the police commissioner’s resignation. Till the police allow us near Lalbazar, we will not go back,” he said.

Arnab Mukherjee, a postdoctoral trainee at SSKM Hospital, said: “We will go back if the police commissioner resigns on his own.”

Several rounds of negotiations between the police and the doctors failed to break the deadlock. Indira Mukherjee, deputy commissioner, central division, said the protesters had given a list of junior doctors who they said would meet the top cop.

“It was decided before the rally began that the delegation would go to Lalbazar and we are still saying that. But the doctors want the entire rally to be allowed till Bentick Street,” said Mukherjee, who was part of the police force stationed on BB Ganguly Street.

Police officers said all marches to Lalbazar are only allowed till the BB Ganguly Street-Phears Lane crossing, the point where the doctors’ rally was stopped.

The doctors said they were demanding Goyal’s resignation because as the head of Kolkata Police, he has to take responsibility for the failure to prevent the attack on RG Kar past August 14 midnight.

The doctors also said they always had doubts about the investigation by Kolkata Police into the rape and murder. They said their suspicions were proven true when the CBI’s counsel told the Supreme Court that the crime scene had been “altered”.

A Kolkata Police officer has since clarified that an altered crime scene did not mean evidence had been tampered with.

The protesters obviously have not bought that argument.

The doctors were carrying roses, which they wanted to give to the cops at Lalbazar. A slogan raised was: “Chhiniye nite nyay bichar/Golap haat-e Lalbazar (We are marching to Lalbazar for justice/With roses in our hands).”

The police put up barricades up to 9ft tall and tied them with padlocked chains so they could not be moved.

Many marching doctors said the police preparations suggested that they were being seen as “offenders”, instead of being treated as citizens seeking justice.

Asked about the tall steel barricades, an assistant commissioner said: “We followed the usual practice.”