Protesting resident doctors in West Bengal on Tuesday refused to call off their agitation despite the Supreme Court warning them of disciplinary action if they did not return to work, PTI reported.
The protestors rejected an offer from the state government for talks, objecting to an email invitation that sought to restrict the number of representatives who could meet Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
The junior doctors have been protesting for over a month seeking justice in the rape and murder case of a 31-year-old trainee doctor who was found dead at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9. They have sought the resignation of the Kolkata police commissioner and senior state health department officials.
The agitation has disrupted medical services at state-run hospitals in West Bengal. The state government claimed before the Supreme Court on Monday that 23 persons died while the strike was underway.
The court warned the resident doctors that they may face “adverse action” if they did not resume work by 5 pm on Tuesday. A bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud assured them that no disciplinary action would be taken if they met the deadline.
The protestors, however, said that they would continue their agitation till their demands were met.
“We had asked the state government to remove the Kolkata police commissioner, health secretary, director of health services, and the director of medical education by 5 pm [Tuesday],” PTI quoted one of the demonstrators as saying. “We are open to discussion.”
On Tuesday evening, Health Secretary Narayan Swaroop Nigam sent an email to the West Bengal Junior Doctor’s Forum, which is leading the protest, saying that a delegation of up to ten persons could meet government representatives at the state secretariat.
However, Debashish Halder, one of the leaders of the protest, said that the language of the communique was disrespectful and “downright insensitive”, The Indian Express reported. The doctors continued their sit-in protest in front of the state health department headquarters till late on Tuesday evening.
Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Chandrima Bhattacharya said that the chief minister waited for the protestors at the state secretariat till 7.30 pm, but left after she did not get a response. Banerjee holds the health portfolio in the state government.
Meanwhile, the Delhi-based Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association India has expressed solidarity with the protestors in West Bengal and said they were considering launching a second phase of the agitation. The federation accused the West Bengal government of citing “false statistics” to mislead the Supreme Court.
Ex-principal sent to judicial custody till September 23
A special Central Bureau of Investigation court on Tuesday sent Sandip Ghosh, former principal of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, to judicial custody till September 23 in a case pertaining to his alleged role in financial irregularities at the hospital, PTI reported.
The court also sent Ghosh’s security officer Afsar Ali, medical equipment vendor Biplab Singha and pharmacy owner Suman Hazara to judicial custody till September 23.
Ghosh served as the principal of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital when the trainee doctor was allegedly raped and murdered. He resigned from his post amid the protests on August 12.
Some of the protestors have also alleged that the former principal ordered repair work around the crime scene immediately after the woman’s body was found, thus hampering the investigation.
Also read: Have the Kolkata rape-murder protests dented Mamata’s women support base?
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