Indian doctors in government hospitals across several states halted elective services “indefinitely” on Monday to protest the rape and murder of a young medic.
The 31-year-old woman’s brutalised body was found bearing multiple injuries on Friday in a state-run hospital in West Bengal’s Kolkata, where she was a resident doctor.
A subsequent autopsy confirmed sexual assault and homicide.
Police have detained a man who worked at the victim’s hospital helping people navigate busy queues, according to local media reports.
Demonstrations by doctors demanding justice and better workplace security that initially began in Kolkata have now spread to other parts of the country.
“There should be stringent security measures in hospitals and CCTV cameras should be installed,” said Sarvesh Pandey, from the Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA).
Pandey added that the protesting doctors’ demands included a specialised law protecting healthcare workers from violence on the job.
“There are incidents every day where doctors are assaulted,” said Pandey.
The FORDA on Monday wrote to the Union Home Minister and announced the nationwide halting of elective services in hospitals to express solidarity with the doctors of Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, where the trainee doctor was found violated and murdered at the hospital’s seminar hall on Friday.
“This decision is not made lightly, but it is necessary to ensure that our voices are heard and that the demands for justice and safety are met without further delay,” said the federation in its letter.
Notably, the elective services are those which are not urgent, including the scheduled clinical anaesthesia services provided to the patients. These procedures differ from urgent or emergency surgeries requiring immediate attention due to life-threatening ailments.
At least 10 government hospitals in Delhi have also started an indefinite strike and halted their elective services.
They include AIIMS, RML Hospital, Safdarjung Hospital, Maulana Azad Medical College, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital, Lady Hardinge Medical College, GTB Hospital, IHBAS, Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar Medical College, and National Institute of TB and Respiratory Diseases Hospital.
The FORDA has also raised its five demands, which include expeditious Acceptance of Residents’ Demands. Resignation of all the responsible authorities, who could not perform their duty of protecting the dignity and life of a woman who was in this case an on-duty doctor.
There must be a firm assurance that no police brutality or manhandling of the protesting doctors will occur. Swift Justice for the deceased and security Protocols for Healthcare Workers and formation of Expert Committee.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Monday that the probe in the alleged rape and murder of the trainee doctor of Kolkata-based RG Kar Medical College and Hospital will be handed over to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) if the Kolkata Police is unable to complete the investigation by next Sunday.
A special investigation team (SIT) of Kolkata Police under the direct supervision of the joint commissioner (crime) of the city police Murli Dhar, is currently probing the case.
“If the police are unable to complete the investigation by next Sunday, then the responsibility of the investigation in the case will be handed over to the CBI,” the Chief Minister told media persons after meeting the family members of the victim.
Incidentally, the Chief Minister’s statement came just a couple of hours after the Kolkata Police issued a public appeal earlier in the day through social media urging the public to have faith in the investigation being carried out by the SIT of the city police.
The Chief Minister had earlier also made a statement that if the family members of the victim and the protesting junior doctor and medical students of R.G. Kar insist on a central agency probe, she will not have any objection to that.
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