The state government on Saturday agreed to most of the demands raised by the junior doctors of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital asking for justice for the 31-year-old postgraduate trainee of the college who was raped and murdered.
But the agitating doctors decided to continue with the cease work till all demands were met.
In a meeting with the protesting doctors, senior officials of the state health department promised to create duty rooms for junior doctors and also restrict access to places inside the hospital.
“We will create duty rooms for the junior doctors. We will also address the issue regarding toilets. The PWD (public works department) has done its inspection. They will start work from tomorrow (Sunday),” said Sandip Ghosh, principal, RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
Duty rooms and toilets were among the demands put forth by the protesting junior doctors on Friday.
Several junior doctors have alleged that there are no separate resting rooms for them. They have to rest in the wards or in other rooms. The practice is unsafe and uncomfortable, said they said.
Several nursing students at RG Kar hospital said on Saturday that there were no separate washrooms for them in many of the wards.
“We will soon increase security measures in the hospital. We will install CCTV cameras. The police patrolling will also increase,” Ghosh said.
But the protesting junior doctors continued to cease work. “We want the police to tell us what evidence they found because of which they arrested the civic police volunteer. We want to be sure that they are not shielding any heavyweight and merely arresting a pawn,” said a junior doctor. “We also want to see the post-mortem report.”
Many protesting junior doctors echoed the demands.
“We will end our cease work only when we are satisfied that there is an honest attempt by the authorities to conduct a transparent and fair investigation. Their actions and what they do going forward will make their intent clear,” said the doctor.
Among the other demands of the junior doctors were the trial of the accused in a fast-track court and capital punishment for the convicted. The government was ready to concede to these demands. In an interview with the news channel ABP Ananda, chief minister Mamata Banerjee raised these points.
“I have instructed that the trial of this case should be done in a fast-track court. We
should also appeal for capital punishment. Though I am opposed to capital punishment, there are some cases where capital punishment is the only way out. I am even ready to hand over the probe to any other agency,” Mamata said.
In the evening, a meeting among junior doctors of multiple medical colleges in Calcutta, which was organised to decide on the course of the junior doctors’ protests, ended amid disagreements.
The doctors got involved in pushing and shoving. The police had to intervene and separate the two group of doctors.
One of the doctors present in the meeting said that junior doctors from other medical colleges wanted to raise a demand for the resignation of the principal of RG Kar medical college but junior doctors from RG Kar did not agree to this.
The agitators shifted their protest and sit-in to an area outside the emergency of RG Kar hospital on Saturday. On Friday, they were protesting near the administrative building.
The rain did not deter the doctors. They sat through the drizzle and shouted slogans demanding justice for the rape and murder of their colleague.
Earlier in the day, junior doctors — postgraduate trainees, MBBS interns and housestaff — ceased work in many other hospitals. At the Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital, they started a sit-in outside the emergency. “We are on a cease work in solidarity with the protesting doctors of RG Kar,” said a junior doctor.
Junior doctors of Medical College Kolkata also ceased work and brought out a rally.
