Junior doctors erupted in joy as the news of two arrests reached them on Saturday night.
Some blew conch shells, others hugged each other. “We have been repeatedly saying Sandip Ghosh is a corrupt principal. Now it has been proved,” said a junior doctor.
The sky refused to clear up on Saturday and a ray of hope that Bengal’s healthcare stalemate will end emerged in the afternoon with the surprise visit of chief minister Mamata Banerjee to the protest site near Swasthya Bhavan.
The mood brightened after the government responded to a letter by the protesters and called them to the chief minister’s home in Kalighat.
The mood of the protesting doctors swung like a pendulum throughout Saturday that ranged from surprise, anticipation, defiance and disappointment.
The rain fell in buckets since Friday evening and on Saturday morning, groups of protesters sat on hospital beds, cots and plastic sheets.
Overhead tarpaulin sheets strung up on bamboo poles served as roofs but water trickled down their ends.
However, the weather seemed to have little effect on the protesters as they kept singing songs and shouting slogans.
The Abhaya clinics at the site and the food kiosks had a steady stream of visitors. Many were seen taking medicines even as the junior doctors filled out prescriptions from three prefabricated tents.
Around 1pm, when the chief minister accompanied by Rajeev Kumar, the state director general of police, reached the spot, there was a flurry among the junior doctors to gather near the makeshift stage around 100m away from the main gate of Swasthya Bhavan.
Some of the protesters raised slogans of “We want justice” and “Justice for RG Kar”. They were quietened by a section of the protesting doctors. Mamata addressed the junior doctors and told them that she had come as their “Didi” and not as the chief minister.
Sandeep Bhattacharya, a medical intern at NRS Medical College and Hospital, who is at the protest site since Tuesday, said they had never thought that the chief minister would come to the site.
“We were completely taken aback. We had never thought she will come out and meet us,” said Bhattacharya.
After the chief minister left, the representatives from the medical colleges huddled into a general body meeting.
Outside under the tarpaulin sheets, many said they were apprehensive about what would happen. Many stayed glued to their smartphones.
“The fact that she was here has put the ball squarely in our court. Now, if we don’t sit for talks then it might be a loss of face for us. She has shown her human side and we must soften our stand and sit for a discussion,” said Arijit Bhattacharya, an intern at a medical college in the city.
For at least 10 minutes after the chief minister left, the slogans were few and far between.
After around 40 minutes, the representatives came out. “We are open for discussion. However, we are not budging from our set demands and want the meeting to have 100 per cent transparency,” Aniket Mahato, one of the protesting junior doctors.
Hearing this, the protesters broke into cheers and cries of “We want justice” rang out.
A postgraduate trainee of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital said that the fact that they had not “bowed down in obeisance to the chief minister showed their resolve”.
“She has understood that we have the people’s support and that is the only reason she came here. We also want to return to work. All we are asking is for the abolition of the threat culture and corruption in our colleges,” he said.
Following a second general body meeting, the junior doctors’ representatives said they had received an email, adding that they were expecting to be called to an administrative building like Nabanna or Swasthya Bhavan but had been called to the chief minister’s residence in Kalighat.
Around 5.55pm, as a group of around 35 doctors made their way towards the bus, they were cheered on by the protesters. “We want justice” and “All the best” was shouted by many who accompanied the team amid the rain.
“We are hopeful that the talks will be fruitful. They have to be,” said Roushan Rahaman, a medical intern at Kolkata Medical College.
However, later at night, as the doctors refused to enter the meeting at Kalighat, many said they were disappointed.
Around 9.44pm, news of the arrests of former RG Kar principal Sandip Ghosh and the officer in charge of Tala police station, Abhijit Mondal, was announced at the protest site.
Cheers erupted among all who were present at the site.
Bipresh Chakraborty, a postdoctoral intern at SSKM Hospital, said they had been hopeful of the talks being fruitful on Saturday. “It is true that the chief minister was quite humble,” he said.
“But we fail to understand why our team was not allowed to live-stream or record the events on our cameras. We are disappointed,” said Chakraborty.
This was the second time this week that the talks failed.
After coming back from Kalighat, the junior doctors said they had agreed to the fact that recorded minutes of the meeting would be handed to them.
“Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya and other officials told us that they had waited for three hours and they could wait no longer,” said Aniket Mahato, one of the junior doctors.