Doctors Across India Protest After Tragic Incident at RG Kar Medical College

New Delhi [India], August 11: The Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA) has announced a nationwide halt of elective services in hospitals on August 12. This is to show solidarity with the residents of RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata, following the rape and murder of a female post-graduate trainee doctor on August 9.

In support of this initiative, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital, Lady Hardinge Medical College, and associated hospitals have also decided to suspend elective services. Maulana Azad Medical College and its associated hospitals will begin an indefinite suspension of elective services, including OPD, wards, and elective OT’s, starting August 12.

The tragic incident has ignited a political storm in West Bengal. On August 10, Trinamool Congress (TMC) National General Secretary and MP Abhishek Banerjee proposed the introduction of an ordinance or bill to ensure that rape trials are completed within seven days. He criticised the politicisation of the issue and emphasised the need for quick justice.

“The politicisation of this issue should not be done. I saw many political parties come out on the streets. We should instead bring an ordinance or a bill so that there can be quick justice in 7 days. The protesting BJP leaders should bring a bill to punish rapists in 7 days and as the opposition, the job of TMC and Congress is to support the bill. Why will the trial take 5-6 years? A mother and father lost their daughter,” he said.

On Saturday, August 10, a group of doctors at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bhopal, in Madhya Pradesh, held a candlelight march to protest the death of the female post-graduate trainee doctor. Similarly, doctors at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in Delhi also protested, demanding a CBI inquiry into the incident. Protesters carried posters and chanted slogans such as, “We want a CBI inquiry.” Congress workers in Kolkata also took out a protest rally for justice on Saturday.

Earlier, BJP MLA Agnimitra Paul and Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, had called for a CBI investigation in the RG Kar Medical College incident.