‘To Save Saviours’: Arunachal To Kerala, Outraged Nation Rallies For Justice After Kolkata Doctor’s Rape-Murder

From Arunachal Pradesh and Delhi to Kolkata, Mumbai and Kerala, Friday saw intense protests across the nation for the safety of doctors in the wake of the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata.

While Kolkata saw high drama, with the detention of some activists earlier in the day, and the police maintaining the protests were illegal, the Delhi Police issued prohibitory orders in the central areas of the national capital amid protest calls by multiple organisations.

A Delhi Police officer said the city remains on alert due to Independence Day celebrations. Due to the protests announced, traffic at some intersections in central Delhi have been diverted, he said. Deployment of police personnel has been increased and Section 163 (prohibitory orders) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) has been imposed near the Parliament and other parts of central Delhi, they said.

On August 9, a postgraduate trainee doctor was raped and murdered on duty at the hospital in Kolkata. The gruesome details shocked the nation leading to nationwide strikes and protests by the medical fraternity and citizens, including outside the Kolkata hospital. On the night of August 14, a mob of between 5,000 and 7,000 people invaded RG Kar Hospital, ransacking the premises and attacking the protesting doctors, said police.

According to ANI sources, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday interrogated PGT (PG trainees) regarding what happened the night of the incident. Earlier in the day, accused Sanjoy Roy was brought out of CBI Special Crime Branch in CGO complex, Kolkata and taken for medical examination.

WEST BENGAL

In Kolkata, as protesters gathered, police made announcements that the protests are illegal and they will take action.

Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) (SUCI-C) activists were detained during their 12-hour general strike.

The 12-hour general strike in Siliguri by SUCI-C disrupted normal life. A member of SUCI (Communist) Dr Shahriar Alam said, “Today this strike has a huge impact. People have spontaneously responded to our call and throughout Siliguri like the Medical College area, people have not taken out their vehicles, and they have not opened the shops. We can say that the impact is very good. We have called this strike to protest against the heinous incident at RG Kar Medical College.”

“The brutal rape and murder and then two days ago at midnight outsider goons attacked and assaulted the doctors, nurses, protesters and even the patients. They broke everything inside the hospital to clear away the evidence so that the murderers and rapists can be saved. In protest, we have called for a strike. This movement has spread throughout the country and abroad. Doctors, nurses and people have expressed their solidarity,” he said.

The St Xavier’s College Autnomous (Kolkata) will hold a silent march at 5 pm to protest against the incident.

The Jadavpur University Teachers’ Association called for a day-long cease-work on Friday to protest the vandalism at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

MUMBAI

Junior doctors and medical students at Nair Hospital held a protest against the incident.

DELHI

In Delhi, junior doctors and medical students at RML Hospital staged a protest against the rape and murder. The doctors are also expected to gather at Nirman Bhavan later in the day to stage a larger protest. Dr Akash from RML Hospital said, “I appeal to all doctors and common people to reach Nirman Bhawan in large numbers so that we can peacefully put forward our issues in front of the government and seek justice for our colleague from Bengal who lost her life to this barbaric and gruesome act. We also want to tell our friends protesting in Bengal that they are not alone in this fight, all doctors across the country stand in solidarity with them… We demand a Central Protection Act from the government. Our protest will continue till we do not get assurance from the government that concrete steps will be taken.”

BHOPAL

One of the protesters in Madhya Pradesh’s Bhopal, Dr Samiksha Bedi, from Gandhi Medical College, said, “We all are scared after this incident. The situation here is not that bad as the hospital has been renovated. We have duty rooms where we can rest. However, the guards should be there on every floor… Earlier, we were unsafe sometimes due to aggressive people. Now, we are scared of such heinous incidents. Night duties cannot be stopped. Due to such incidents, we will not be able to come to work…It should be resolved from the grassroots level…”

HYDERABAD

One such protest was led by junior doctors and medical students at Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad. Dr Priyanka from Gandhi Hospital said, “I am from Kolkata… I have been speaking to my friends back home about the mob attacks on hostels to destroy evidence because they know the gravity of the situation. They know that we are united all across the country and they are trying their best to scare our colleagues in Bengal. Our friends and colleagues in Bengal are spending sleepless nights because they are scared and even they don’t know what going to happen next… Our fight will not end soon, it will continue and we will escalate it if needed.”

PUNJAB

Dr Balwinder Singh, Working President of PCMS Association, said, “… We are protesting to seek justice for our colleague in Bengal, who was subject to this monstrous and barbaric act… We have suspended OPD services along with other services barring emergency services and medico-legal, across Punjab through PCMS Association and IMA body…”

Doctors from Jalandhar and Punjab, too, staged protests.

KERALA

The Resident Doctors Association of Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology protest against the Kolkata incident.

ODISHA

Healthcare services were affected at the state-run SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack on Thursday as students went on cease work, protesting the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at a Kolkata hospital. Students wearing black badges sat on dharna on the campus, affecting OPD, OT and lab services. Emergency services, however, functioned as usual. The protesting students said they would be forced to stop emergency services as well if their demand for a central law for the protection of doctors was not met in 72 hours.

A similar agitation was launched by the students of AIIMS-Bhubaneswar on Wednesday.

ARUNACHAL PRADESH

The Indian Medical Association’s Arunachal Pradesh Branch (IMA-AP), expressing anguish over the alleged rape and murder in RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, has decided to join the nationwide protest by shutting down all routine services across the state for 24 hours on Saturday.

The attitude of the government authorities regarding the inquiry is pathetic, IMA-AP president Dr Kesang Wangdi Thongdok alleged on Friday.

Inputs from Agencies