Kolkata rape-murder: Junior doctors continue stir, healthcare services remain affected in Bengal

Healthcare services across West Bengal continued to be disrupted for the tenth consecutive day on Sunday (August 18) as junior doctors at state-run hospitals maintained their strike, demanding justice for the woman doctor who was raped and murdered at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

As the outpatient departments (OPDs) at government hospitals are closed on Sundays, the rush was less even as senior doctors were attending the emergency department to provide treatment to the visiting patients.

'Will continue protest'

"We are not for affecting healthcare services. We can understand the problems faced by the patients but our protest is very relevant in this context when an on-duty doctor was raped and murdered. Is this what we expect while coming to work? We will continue with our protest till our sister gets justice and the government arranges total security for us," an agitating doctor told PTI.

The body of the woman postgraduate trainee doctor was found inside a seminar hall of the hospital on August 9. A civic volunteer was arrested the next day for his alleged involvement in the crime.

Quick punishment

The junior doctors have been demanding that the culprits be punished as quickly as possible, and the post-mortem examination report of the victim be made public.

The Calcutta High Court on August 13 ordered the transfer of the probe into the case from the Kolkata Police to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) which started its investigation on August 14.

(With agency inputs)