West Bengal Doctors To Decide On Resuming 'Cease Work' After SC Hearing Of RG Kar Case

RG Kar Rape-Murder Case: Junior doctors in West Bengal said on Saturday that they would take a decision pertainbing to resuming total 'cease work' in medical colleges after observing the state government's submission on their safety and security at workplaces during the hearing of the RG Kar rape and murder case in the Supreme Court on September 30.

The decision of medics was taken after three doctors and three nurses were assaulted following the death of a patient at the College of Medicine and Sagore Dutta Hospital near Kolkata on Friday night. The doctors alleged that the attacks at the state-run hospital show that the state government has "totally failed" to deliver promises to provide them security.

Following the attacks, one of the junior doctors said that the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government in the state totally failed in providing us safety and security.

"The state government has totally failed in providing us safety and security, and that is the reason the attack took place in Sagore Dutta Hospital. We are giving the state some time and want to hear their submission regarding our security during the Supreme Court hearing on Monday, and then from 5 PM, we will start total 'cease work' at all hospitals across Bengal," the junior doctor said, as quoted by PTI.

"It seems that our meetings with the chief minister and the chief secretary were not taken seriously. How can patients' family members threaten one of our female colleagues to repeat what has happened at the RG Kar hospital. We do not feel secure in the hospitals; we lost all hope in the state government," he said.

The decisions were announced following a junior doctors' general body meeting held after the assaults on medics at the Sagore Dutta Hospital. Soon after Friday's incident, junior doctors at the Sagore Dutta Hospital started "total cease work" there.

On Sunday, junior doctors decided to organize a rally across the state, protesting the Sagore Dutta Hospital incident. "Where gone the assurances on our safety and security. We will go for a bigger demonstration," Aniket Mahato, a doctor who was also present there, said, as quoted by PTI.

Depending on the submission on the part of the Bengal government in the Supreme Court hearing on Monday, junior doctors might contemplate whether to go for "total cease work or not", Mahato said.

On September 21, medics rejoined their duties partially at various government-run hospitals in West Bengal after a hiatus of 42 days. They were on 'cease work' in protest against the rape-murder of an on-duty woman doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital here.

Junior doctors had on Thursday written an email to Chief Secretary Manoj Pant, reiterating their demands, which were "yet to be fulfilled" by the state government. In the two-page letter, representatives of the West Bengal Junior Doctors' Forum referred to their meeting with him at the state secretariat on September 18 when their demands "were verbally agreed."

(With PTI Inputs)