Lack of confidence in police and the administration and a feeling of insecurity resonated among students and junior doctors of state-run medical colleges across Bengal on Saturday, a day after the killing of the woman doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Calcutta.

Medical students, junior doctors and supporters of the students’ wings of political parties hit the streets in protest against the murder.

Many didn’t join their duties, which left hundreds of patients inconvenienced. At medical colleges in Burdwan, Bankura and Rampurhat, only emergency departments remained operational to serve patients.

The protests were not limited to state-run medical colleges. Students and faculty members from private medical institutions also joined in.

Right from Kalyani to Cooch Behar, Midnapore to Raiganj, consistent protests were seen throughout Bengal.

The demonstrators took out candlelight rallies and staged road blockades, demanding exemplary punishment of the accused and a comprehensive probe.

“We can’t bank on police and the administration and want a judicial inquiry into the incident that has shaken our confidence. It is hard to believe that only one person was involved in the crime,” said Poushali Patra, a final-year MBBS student at North Bengal Medical College & Hospital (NBMCH), the largest state-run referral hospital in northern parts of the state.

NBMCH has around 150 women doctors, including junior doctors and interns. “All of them have to do night duty in shifts. After this incident, we fear to do duty at night hours,” she said.

The NBMCH is spread over a large area. Students and junior doctors, including women, had to move through semi-deserted roads to reach different departments of the hospital and their hostels during evening and night hours.

According to the junior doctors, even the basic facilities are lacking at the hospital.

“There is no proper doctor’s duty room with toilets. Also, we doubt whether the CCTV cameras cover the entire campus and whether the number of (private) security personnel is adequate to prevent any crime,” said one of them.

A former student of NBMCH mentioned that since 2018, when a mob beat up junior doctors at NRS Medical College & Hospital, they had sought adequate security at the medical colleges.

“But there hasn’t been much of a change in the situation. It is also surprising how a civic volunteer, who has no purpose to be at RG Kar, managed to get inside,” he said.

Protests were also witnessed at MJN Medical College & Hospital in Cooch Behar, prompting Parthapratim Roy, chairman of the patient welfare committee of the college to review the security system at the hospital. Later in the day, hospital authorities came up with a slew of directives to ensure the safety of doctors and students.

Sushmit Roy, a third-year student at the medical college, questioned the entry of the accused civic volunteer in RG Kar Medical College & Hospital.

“He is an outsider and we wonder how he got the access to enter. He might have entered inside with the help of somebody associated with the medical college. We doubt whether the police would trace these people,” he said.

The students and junior doctors of Jalpaiguri Medical College & Hospital also tossed questions at the state police.

“How can a person of such character be engaged as a civic volunteer? The incident has left us mulling whether we can bank on those deployed for our security. Stringment steps should be taken so that no loose ends are left at the medical colleges especially, for women’s security,” said Jasmina Khatun, a second-year MBBS student in Jalpaiguri.

In a separate incident, a female doctor was allegedly assaulted by relatives of a deceased patient at the Burdwan Medical College on Saturday. Following a complaint,
police detained two of the deceased’s relatives.

Along with students of state-run medical colleges students of a private medical college in Shantiniketan organised a candlelight vigil. Those studying in AIIMS, Kalyani, also held a similar march.

Chinmoyee Roy, a junior doctor at Raiganj Medical College & Hospital, echoed her apprehension.

“We suffer from a sense of insecurity and this incident has added to our apprehension. A comprehensive assessment of security issues in the medical colleges and appropriate steps is the need of the hour,” she said.