Was the rape and murder the job of one man? Or, were more people involved in the crime? What was the motive for the crime?

Junior doctors, like tens of thousands of others, are looking forward to the Supreme Court hearing on the RG Kar rape and murder case on Monday. They want clarity from the bench hearing the matter, headed by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, about the probe being conducted by the CBI.

The junior doctors at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital said there is no clarity on the investigation even a month after the crime.

The 31-year-old postgraduate trainee was found raped and murdered in the seminar hall on the third floor ofthe Emergency Buildingon August 9. Since then the junior doctors at the 26 government medical colleges in the state have been on acease-work.

“We started our cease-work because we were seeking justice for our colleague who faced the brutality. One month has passed but there is no clear information on whether one person committed the crime or more were involved. This has been our question since the first day, but we have yet to receive a clear answer,” said a junior doctor.

Aniket Mahato, a postgraduate trainee at RG Kar who has been at the forefront of the junior doctors’ protests, said all students and junior doctors are keenly awaiting the Supreme Court hearing on Monday.

“We want some clear information to emerge during the hearing. There should be a clear word on what theinvestigation has found. Does the CBI think only one person was involved in the crime, or does it think more than one person was involved?” said Mahato.

“We also want to know the motive for the crime,” he said.

“Exactly a month ago, Abhaya (the name by which a section of protesters is referring to the victim) was raped and killed at night. We are calling the Sunday night ‘Abhayar Raat’ (the night for Abhaya). It marks one month of the gruesome crime,” said a junior doctor.

The Junior Doctors’ Front has also called upon people from all walks of life to hit the streets between 10am and 10.30am on Monday.

“The call to come down on the streets is aimed at telling the Supreme Court that a lot of time has passed. It’s time we were told the basic facts such as who committed the crime,” said a protesting junior doctor.

The absence of junior doctors, whose numbers range between 8,000 and 10,000 across the state, has severely impacted services at government medical colleges.

The OPD footfall has dropped and planned surgeries have been cancelled. Many beds are vacant at the medical colleges where getting a bed used to be a struggle.

Junior doctors said they will decide on whether to end the cease-work or not after Monday’s hearing at the apex court.

“If there is something positive, like some clarity about the probe, we will go back and discuss how to continue with the protests, whether to join duties partially,” said one junior doctor.

Calcutta High Court had handed over the probe to the CBI on August 13. Before that Kolkata Police were probing the matter.

The junior doctors had met the CBI officers in Calcutta but the sleuths refused to share any information about the probe with them. They said it was not possible for them to divulge anything about a probe being monitored by the Supreme Court.

The demands of the junior doctors, which have undergone modifications over the course of the month-long cease-work, at present are:

• Identification of all culprits and their arrest. A clear word on the motive of the crime.
• Resignation of Kolkata Police commissioner Vineet Goyal.
• Ensuring the safety of doctors and all healthcare workers.
• End of the reign of fear at medical colleges.