The junior doctors at the North Bengal Medical College & Hospital (NBMCH) — the largest state-run referral hospital in north Bengal — have again, after a short gap, escalated their protests over the rape and murder of the junior doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Calcutta.

On Sunday, a group of 24 doctors held a symbolic hunger strike in front of the hospital’s emergency department which continued till 10.30am on Monday.

While 22 of them withdrew, the remaining two are continuing with their fast indefinitely. They said that once they were unable to continue, their colleagues would step in as a relay hunger strike.

A 31-year-old postgraduate intern was raped and murdered inside RG Kar premises early on August 9, sparking outrage across the state and elsewhere.

Koustav Chakrabortty, president of the Resident Doctors’ Association (RDA), NBMCH branch, said the indefinite hunger strike by the duo which crossed 30 hours on Monday, would continue until their demands are met.

“The protesting doctors are demanding immediate implementation of the 10-point demand raised by junior doctors after the RG Kar incident, which includes enhanced security measures in all the state-run medical institutions and the resignation of the health secretary,” Chakrabortty said.

“We have called off the cease-work in the interest of common people. However, our protests will continue until our demands are met. Yesterday’s (Sunday’s) hunger strike was symbolic and from today, two of us are into indefinite fasting. We will also begin a relay hunger strike, where one or two doctors will fast every day,” he added.

Earlier, when the junior doctors were on cease-work, senior doctors would manage most of the workload in the NBMCH. However, delays in treatment were unavoidable due to the high patient volume at the hospital.

The doctors’ protest comes amid mounting concerns over the safety and security of medical professionals following the RG Kar incident that has sparked a wave of demonstrations across Bengal.

The duo continuing the indefinite hunger strike are Alok Kumar Verma, a first-year postgraduate trainee in psychiatry, and Souvik Banerjee, an intern at the North Bengal Dental College and Hospital, which is also on the NBMCH campus.

“We will continue the hunger strike until our health deteriorates. If that happens, other members of the RDA are prepared to step in and continue with the fast,” said Banerjee.