Junior Doctors in Kolkata Protest for Justice After Trainee Doctor’s Tragic Death

In Kolkata, junior doctors have been protesting against the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. They claim that no action has been taken on the directives given by the Chief Secretary to address their safety concerns.

Protests and Demands

Aniket Mahato, a junior doctor at RG Kar Medical College, stated, “Our agitation so far centered around only one agenda, and that was justice for Abhaya. It has been 10 days since we met with the Chief Secretary concerning our safety and security in hospitals, but we haven’t seen any action on the directives given by the Chief Secretary as per our demands.”

Dr. Shreya Shaw, another doctor at RG Kar Medical College, added, “We have five demands that have not been fulfilled till now. We joined our duty thinking our patients needed us but during all this, another similar incident happened in Sagar Dutta Medical College and Hospital… All our meetings with the CM and government have all gone in vain… All we want to say is, no safety, no duty. We have our eyes on every hearing of the SC, and we need to keep the pressure high. We have faith that the CJI will announce a verdict that gives us justice… We want justice as soon as possible because justice delayed is justice denied.”

Recent Developments

The West Bengal Junior Doctors Front organized a torch rally from RG Kar Hospital to Shyambazar as part of their ongoing protests. Following the arrest of Abhijit Mondal, the former officer-in-charge of Tala Police Station, Malay Kumar Dutta has been appointed as the new officer-in-charge.

On Wednesday, both Sandip Ghosh, the former principal of RG Kar Medical College, and the arrested officer-in-charge, Abhijit Mondal, were transferred to the Presidency Jail from the Sealdah Court. Mondal and Ghosh were arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the rape and murder of a woman doctor at RG Kar Medical College. The West Bengal Medical Council also canceled Sandip Ghosh’s medical practitioner registration.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) initiated a search operation at Ghosh’s residence in Chinar Park, Kolkata, linked to a separate investigation into financial irregularities at RG Kar Medical College. The ED registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to investigate alleged money laundering involving Ghosh.

On September 10, a CBI court remanded Sandip Ghosh and three others to judicial custody in connection with financial irregularities at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. The CBI’s investigation followed a directive from a single bench of the Calcutta High Court, which ordered a probe into allegations of corruption and financial mismanagement at the institution.

Abhijit Mondal was suspended by the Kolkata Police on September 18 after his arrest by the CBI on September 14. He was produced before the Sealdah Court on Sunday along with Ghosh.