The West Bengal Doctors Forum (WBDF) has announced its support for the Indian Medical Association's (IMA) nationwide call to withdraw non-emergency medical services for 24 hours on Saturday. This decision was taken in response to the ‘brutal crime in the RG Kar Medical College Kolkata and the hooliganism unleashed’.

The IMA, representing over 4 lakh doctors in India, announced the strike, which will start from 6 am on Saturday and end at 6 am on Sunday, affecting both government and private hospitals across the state and the country. The strike excludes emergency services.

The Telegraph Online spoke with three doctors- two from Calcutta and one from Bankura- who work with private clinics. All said they would participate in the strike on Saturday.

“This is a heinous crime which has been committed with a female doctor at her workplace. We have been directed by the IMA that we must withdraw our services excluding the non-emergency ones. I will definitely be there at our workplace but I will not be attending any patients. I stand completely in solidarity with the protests,” Dr Annuradha Dey, a maxillofacial surgeon from Kolkata told The Telegraph Online.

“I am not feeling well mentally, I kept my clinic closed today also. Things have gone beyond imagination and I am totally supporting this cause and my clinic will be closed tomorrow,” said Dr Debleena Mallick, a dentist from Bankura district.

“This thing has happened with a lady doctor, all doctors must support the cause. I am definitely supporting the cause and for this I have kept my clinic closed tomorrow. I believe as human beings and not as doctors we should support IMA” Dr Pramod Kumar Gound a dentist from Kolkata told The Telegraph Online.

The WBDF has appealed to the private clinics and hospitals to participate in the strike tomorrow. While essential services will remain operational, routine medical services will be suspended for 24 hours.

The strike was called because of the widespread protests by doctors in Calcutta and other cities, including Mumbai, Hyderabad, and New Delhi over the brutal rape and murder of the trainee doctor at the RG Kar.

The IMA in a statement on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday had said: “Doctors, especially women are vulnerable to violence because of the nature of the profession. It is for the authorities to provide for the safety of doctors inside hospitals and campuses.”

The WBDF has further urged every practitioner of modern medicine to stand united with the medical community and support the IMA.