 "Kolkata case: Doctors' association calls for nationwide strike on Oct 9")
In a move to express solidarity with the ongoing protest over the rape and murder of a junior doctor in West Bengal, the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) announced on Monday that it will stage a nationwide hunger strike.
Following a meeting, the doctors’ association confirmed the hunger strike will start on Wednesday (October 9), marking two months since the tragic incident involving a trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College in West Bengal on August 9.
FAIMA President Suvrankar Datta said that the association has maintained close coordination with the West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front and stands firmly together.
Kolkata case: Bengal govt to install CCTVs in all medical colleges
Meanwhile on Monday, the West Bengal government urged junior doctors to end their hunger strike and return to work. It promised to complete the installation of CCTVs in all state medical colleges within the next three days.
During a press briefing at Nabanna, the state secretariat, Chief Secretary Manoj Pant emphasised the government’s commitment to ensuring a secure work environment and called on the protesting doctors to view these efforts ‘positively’.
“We have to install 7,015 CCTVs in the 28 medical colleges in the state. We have done 45 per cent of the work, which is 3,081 CCTV cameras have already been installed in different government-run hospitals. We are expecting to complete the CCTV installation work before October 10,” Pant said.
Pant mentioned that a panic button or alarm system, which is a key demand of the protesting doctors, will be in place in state-run medical facilities by November 1. A pilot project for a ‘referral system’ is set to launch on October 15.
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Kolkata rape-murder case: CBI files chargesheet
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday filed a chargesheet in connection with the rape and murder of a doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
The chargesheet, submitted 58 days after the incident, named Sanjoy Roy, the sole accused arrested in connection to the crime. The CBI’s investigation has so far focused on Roy, a civic police volunteer, who was initially arrested by the Kolkata Police before the CBI took over the case.
A three-judge Bench, led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, is overseeing the investigation, issuing multiple directives to both the Union government and the West Bengal administration.
In addition to Roy, the CBI has arrested five others for various offenses related to the case. This includes Sandip Kumar Ghosh, the former principal of the hospital, and Abhijit Mondal, the former officer-in-charge of Tala police station, who has been charged with tampering with evidence.
[With agency inputs]