Junior doctors in West Bengal have initiated a hunger strike on Saturday evening, demanding justice for their colleague who was brutally raped and murdered at the RG Kar Hospital. This escalation in protest comes after their demands for justice were ignored by the West Bengal government.
Dr. Sayantani, speaking on behalf of the West Bengal Junior Doctors Front, told ANI, “Until our demands for justice on humanitarian grounds are fulfilled, we will continue this hunger strike. Before her rape and murder, Abhaya faced multiple threats. It could have been any of us. It is our responsibility to ensure that there are no more ‘Abhayas.’ While we sit here on a hunger strike, we hear of another minor girl who was raped and murdered.”
The doctors emphasized that despite the ongoing tragedy and the hunger strike, many of their colleagues have returned to work to ensure that patients are not affected during the upcoming Navratri festival. “Many cases similar to RG Kar have happened after August 9th, yet all doctors, except the six of us participating in this hunger strike, have resumed their duties to prevent disruptions during Navratri,” Dr. Sayantani added.
With just three days left before the Durga Puja festivities begin, the doctors had begun a sit-in demonstration at the Dorina Crossing in Dharmatala, the heart of Kolkata, on Friday. They had given the state government a 24-hour deadline to meet their demands, warning that they would hold the state responsible if any doctor fell ill during the fast.
“The state government has failed to meet the deadline, leading us to begin this fast unto death, which will continue until our demands are met. For transparency, we have installed CCTV cameras at the dais where our colleagues are holding the fast,” a junior doctor told PTI. The doctors are determined to hold the government accountable for the safety of healthcare professionals and to prevent future tragedies.
