RG Kar case: Protest march by doctors to Bengal health department HQ

Kolkata, Sep 10 (IANS) Thousands of doctors, medical students and representatives from the nursing fraternity from all over the state on Tuesday marched towards the Swastha Bhavan, the West Bengal health department headquarters at Salt Lake on the northern outskirts of Kolkata, in support of their demands on the R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital rape-murder case.

The fresh demands of the protesting representatives of the medical fraternity include the suspension of the state health secretary, state director of health services and director of medical education.

The march started from Karunamoyee crossing, also in Salt Lake and slowly approached the Swastha Bhavan, which has been wrapped under security cover by the Bidhannagar City Police, under whose jurisdiction the state health department headquarters comes.

“Our protest march today is not just condemning the ghastly tragedy at R.G Kar. We are also protesting against the total lawlessness going on in all the state-run medical colleges and hospitals in the state under the patronage of people like Sandip Ghosh and his gang,” said a protester.

Ghosh, the former and controversial principal of R.G. Kar, has already been arrested by CBI on charges of financial irregularities at the hospital. Some of his confidant doctors have been suspended by the state health department and the state medical council.

The main allegation against these suspended doctors is that they created a “threat culture” in the state-run medical colleges and hospitals using their clouts in the ruling dispensation.

The protest march is being carried out despite an observation by a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court on Monday that unless the junior doctors return to duty by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, the apex court will be unable to intervene if the state government initiates any proceedings against them in the matter.

Echoing the observation of the apex court, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee too, earlier in the day issued an appeal to the junior doctors to rejoin duty.

However, unnerved by the deadline articulated by the apex court in its observation and the statement of CM Mamata Banerjee asking the protesting junior doctors to be back on duty, the latter have announced their stand of continued protests in the matter.