A new junior doctors’ outfit has now sent to Bengal’s chief secretary a set of demands, including their representation in the state-level task force and a probe into the funds of the platform of junior doctors protesting the RG Kar atrocity.

They have also urged the government to ensure that no one in any medical college is punished based on the “recommendations of one side”.

The West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Association, which was unveiled on Saturday, is made up primarily of people accused of running a culture of threat and intimidation in Bengal’s government medical colleges.

Its members have claimed innocence and said they had been “framed” They maintain that are not perpetrators but victims of a “threat culture” that is run by the protesting doctors.

“We... have duly formed our organisation to bring into notice the grievous situation through which we had to go through following the politicisation and deviation in ideals of protest... We had no other option left where we could portray to the people the urgency and depth of our situation,” said a note that preceded the set of demands mailed to the chief secretary around 7.45pm on Sunday.

Copies were marked to the principal health secretary, director of health services (DHS) and the director of medical education (DME).

“Proper audit of irregularities related matters of WBJDF, that huge collection of funds and proper investigation of the source andmotive of such alleged Financial irregularities by competent authority of Govt,”says the charter of eight demands.

On Saturday, the new association claimed the protesting doctors — part of the West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front — had “raised ₹4.75 crore in the name of Abhaya”.

The set of demands also includes “Participation in equal ratio in all college and state-level official committees, including task force, RKS (Rogi Kalyan Samity), others in equal ratio as that of the WBJDF to have transparency in every proceedings”.

A state-level task force comprising four junior doctors, a female medical student and senior government officials will be set up to look into all complaints regarding government medical colleges and district hospitals, chief minister Mamata Banerjee said at a meeting with protesting junior doctors at Nabanna on October 21.

“We have raised these demands for the sake of an impartial probe. So far, the chief minister and chief secretary have listened to one side’s version. The action taken against us was unilateral. We hope that the government will be fair and listen to both sides before taking any decision,”said Sreesh Chakraborty, convenor of the West Bengal Junuir Doctors’ Association, an intern at RG Kar and one of the signatories to the charter of demands.

On September 11, theRG Kar authorities barred51 junior doctors from entering the campus and formed a committee to probe the allegations of intimidation against them. On October 5, a meeting of the special college council decided to “expel” 10 of the accused from the medicalinstitution “till furtherorders”.

On October 22, a high court vacation bench put an interim stay on the “punitive” actions, saying any final decisionhad to go through the government.

At the Nabanna meeting on October 21, Mamata had disapproved of the stringent action RG Kar authorities had taken bypassing the health department.

“We were opposed to the prolonged cease-work by doctors. That was our onlyfault. We were sidelined and targeted because we wanted to work. People who are claiming to be crusaders for justice have been threatening us,” Chakraborty told Metro on Monday.

Asked about the demands of the new association, Aniket Mahata, postgraduate trainee at RG Kar and one of the familiar faces of the doctors’movement, said: “This is a democratic country. Whoever wants to form an association can do so. But the onus is on the state government now.The administration has to decide who to side with — people accused of threat culturethat led to a heinous crime or people who stayed on the road for 81 days, fighting forjustice”.