On Saturday, 12th October, two more junior doctors joined six of their colleagues in a fast-unto-death. The six junior doctors entered the seventh day of their fast-unto-death on Saturday. These protesters have been demanding justice for the junior doctor who was brutally raped and killed at RK Kar Medical College and Hospital, along with other crucial demands.
Parichoy Panda from Ramakrishna Mission Seva Pratishthan and Alolika Ghorui from Calcutta National Medical College have been identified as the two junior doctors who joined the fast-unto-death on Saturday. Another two junior doctors joined at North Bengal Medical College in Siliguri, bringing the total number of junior doctors sitting on the fast-unto-death to ten.
The condition of the fasting doctors reportedly worsened on Friday. Fellow doctors said that their health parameters were declining. The hunger strike was started by the doctors on 5th October.
One of the protesting doctors, Dr Debasish Halder, said, “They are very weak and all their parameters are declining. The presence of creatinine in their urine has increased. Seven days of fasting is taking a toll on their health, but it hasn’t weakened their resolve for justice.”
Another protesting junior doctor, Aniket Mahato, was admitted to the CCU of RG Kar Hospital, where his condition was stable but critical. A senior doctor said, “He is responding to treatment, showing improvement in his health parameters due to calculated care, but he will need a few more days to fully recover.” Mahato had joined the protests on 6th October. On 10th October, his health deteriorated, after which he was rushed to the hospital.
Meanwhile, two of the fasting junior doctors alleged that police approached their families and persuaded them to withdraw from the hunger strike. Snigdha Hazra from Kolkata Medical College and Hospital and Alok Verma from North Bengal Medical College reported that they received calls from their families asking them to end the fast.
Videos of Hazra’s house went viral on social media on 10th October, showing police visiting her home. Verma said, “My mother called me to say she received calls from Bengal Police. They told her my health was deteriorating and urged her to ask me to withdraw from the strike. I told her I would continue the hunger strike and wouldn’t listen to them.” When the media approached senior police officials, they declined to comment.
IMA wrote to CM, and FAIMA issued a warning
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has also written to the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, urging her to intervene before the situation escalates. The Federation of All India Medical Associations (FAIMA) has also warned of a nationwide complete shutdown of medical services if any harm is caused to the junior doctors protesting in Kolkata.
Reportedly, 38 doctors from Arambagh Medical College and Hospital have decided to submit mass resignations to express solidarity with their junior counterparts.
Junior doctors wrote to CS.
Meanwhile, on 10th October, the West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front on Thursday wrote a letter to Chief Secretary Manoj Pant, expressing frustration over the state government’s silence regarding their concerns. In their letter, the doctors expressed disappointment that securing a meeting took 96 hours of an indefinite hunger strike. They are demanding timely updates on their previous requests and accountability from the government.
The letter read, “As we expressed yesterday, we were disheartened by the fact that it took 96 hours of indefinite hunger strike for you even to call us for a meeting.” They noted that their previous emails on September 26 and September 29 had gone unanswered, despite their hopes that the government was taking their demands seriously.
On Saturday, 5th October, junior doctors protesting the rape and murder of their colleague at the RG Kar Hospital in Kolkata began a fast unto death. The protesting doctors have accused the West Bengal Government of failing to fulfil their demands. Notably, they started a sit-in protest at Dorina Crossing in Dharmatala on Friday, 4th October, and gave the state government a deadline of 24 hours to meet their promises.
RG Kar Medical College and Hospital rape and murder case
On 9th August, the semi-naked, injured body of a 31-year-old woman doctor was found in the seminar hall of Kolkata’s state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. Her autopsy report confirmed rape before the murder. A total of three persons have been arrested so far in this case including Sanjay Roy, the prime accused. After the Courts came down heavily on the State government and Kolkata Police for mishandling the case, the Calcutta High Court transferred the probe from the Kolkata Police to the CBI.
