The junior medical doctors of Bengal known as off their huge protest over the rape-murder of a colleague at a Kolkata hospital and mentioned they may be a part of work from Saturday. However there was a caveat – they mentioned they won’t be a part of OPD companies or attend elected operations. These could be resumed as soon as they’re assured of the state authorities’s dedication to the protection problem, they mentioned. The announcement got here after the state had accepted most of their calls for — and amid huge floods in south Bengal the place well being companies have change into a precedence.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has been on a tour of the flood-hit areas since yesterday. It was the Chief Secretary who attended the final assembly with the medical doctors on Wednesday and accepted their calls for and solutions concerning safety.
Earlier right this moment, he wrote to the Principal Secretary, giving detailed directions which included making certain satisfactory availability of on-duty rooms, washrooms, CCTVs, deployment of police and safety personnel which would come with girls, cellular police groups for surveillance at evening, central helpline and panic buttons and alarms.
The official has additionally ordered an audit of safety in any respect state-run medical establishments.
The medical doctors made it clear that this partial return to work isn’t by any means an finish to their agitation. “If wanted, we’ll start ceasework once more,” mentioned a consultant of the junior medical doctors. The authorized battle may even proceed, as would their demand for a fast decision of the rape-murder of a 31-year-old physician that’s on the coronary heart of the protest.
The tip of this section of protest will likely be marked by a march from the protest website to the CGO Complicated, the place the workplace of the Central Bureau of Investigation is situated.
The decision of the 41-day deadlock with the state authorities was set in movement on Monday, with the medical doctors sitting face-to-face with the Chief Minister after three failed makes an attempt.
Ms Banerjee had instantly introduced the elimination of Kolkata police chief Vineet Goyal and two high officers of the well being division. The medical doctors, although, are nonetheless pushing for the elimination of the well being secretary.
“I do know they are saying they may go and talk about after which will resolve on lifting the ceasework. However I’ve requested them to take action, citing the situation of sufferers, particularly in view of the floods in among the districts,” the Chief Minister had mentioned after the assembly.
The medical doctors had declared that assembly a “partial success” and mentioned the federal government was capitulating in face of the protests that was buttressed by 1000’s of the residents of town.
The 31-year-old physician was raped and murdered at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical School on August 9. The prime suspect is Sanjoy Roy, a civic volunteer with the Kolkata Police, who was stationed on the police outpost on the hospital and had entry to all departments.
The protests that began on the hospital the subsequent day quickly snowballed, drawing in the civil society and main to an enormous logjam with the state authorities that would not be resolved even by a “again to work’ order by the Supreme Court docket. Mamata Banerjee mentioned although the courtroom order has empowered her to make use of strong-arm ways, she wouldn’t accomplish that, since she didn’t assist “Emergency’.
The logjam was attributable to the police investigation that left too many unanswered questions, allegations that the police had pressured the cremation regardless of the mother and father’ unwillingness and an officer’s provide of cash to the lady’s mother and father to bury the case. The officer involved has been eliminated as effectively.
It was adopted by the state’s switch order for Principal Sandip Ghosh, hours after he resigned from the submit beneath strain of public opinion.
The sequence of occasions led to spiralling protests that unfold throughout the nation, already outraged over the surprising crime.
