Junior Doctors in Kolkata Protest for Justice in RG Kar Medical College Case

Junior doctors in Kolkata are continuing their protest for the fourth consecutive night at Swasthya Bhawan in the Salt Lake area, despite heavy rain. They are demanding justice for a trainee doctor who was raped and murdered at RG Kar Medical College.

To ensure security, the Kolkata Police have installed CCTV cameras at the protest site and surrounding areas. The doctors are calling for enhanced safety measures at medical institutions, even after the Supreme Court set a deadline for them to resume work.

On September 13, the junior doctors criticized West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for rejecting their request to live telecast a meeting and for not meeting with them. They argued that their request was reasonable, as many parliamentary and administrative meetings are broadcast live. The doctors were frustrated about being asked to leave electronic gadgets outside the meeting hall, preventing them from recording the proceedings.

Dr. Anustup Mukherjee, one of the protesting doctors, stated, “If all parliamentary discussions can be live telecast, if even the Chief Minister herself encourages live telecast of all her administrative meetings, then perhaps our request was not unjustified. We did not find any breach of code of law in our request for live telecast. Unfortunately, this issue remained non-negotiable.”

Earlier, CM Mamata Banerjee urged the protesting doctors to return to work, emphasizing that she is more concerned about justice for the RG Kar rape-murder victim and the treatment of ordinary citizens. She said, “I am ready to resign from the Chief Minister of West Bengal. I am not concerned about the post. I want justice for the victim, I am only concerned about ordinary people getting medical service.”

The second-year postgraduate medical student was raped and murdered inside the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College on August 9.