Fast Unto Death: Kolkata Junior Doctors Protest RG Kar Rape-Murder Case

KOLKATA: Junior doctors in Kolkata began a hunger strike on Saturday evening, alleging that the state government has failed to take any step regarding their demands. T

he doctors resorted to protest for justice for a 31-year-old doctor who was raped and murdered at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9.

Doctors sat-in at Dorina Crossing in Kolkata's Dharmatala on Friday and handed the Bengal government a 24-hour deadline to meet their demands after ending a 42-day protest on September 21 following lengthy discussions with the state government.

A junior doctor present there informs news agency PTI that the state government has missed the deadline and they have begun their hunger strike that will continue till their demands are met. In fact, they have installed CCTV cameras at the dais where their other colleagues are fasting for transparency's sake.

The doctors have stated that they resumed work but won't consume a single morsel. The doctors have also said that six of them have taken fast unto death and appealed to the people to ensure that if anything happens to them, then it is the moral responsibility of the TMC government.

Among them are Snigdha Hazra, Tanaya Panja, and Anustup Mukhopadhyay from Kolkata Medical College and Hospital, Arnab Mukhopadhyay from SSKM Hospital, Pulastha Acharya from NRS Medical College and Hospital, and Sayantani Ghosh Hazra from KPC Medical College.

Doctors claim that the police did not allow them to install their dais at the protest venue and even resorted to baton charges on peaceful protesters. The Kolkata police stated that such areas are meant to experience heavy traffic flow and requested a complaint file against the police officers involved in the baton charge.

Most controversial is the demand of taking out Health Secretary NS Nigam in a list of nine demands they have put forth. The rest of the demands made by them include centrally listed referral facilities, bed availability tracking, and the formation of task forces for all essential facilities like CCTV, on-call rooms, and washrooms in their work places.

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