Page 2 - Women Doctors

RG Kar case: CBI cites blood stain, DNA report as evidence in chargesheet

The CBI has listed 11 pieces of evidence, such as reports of DNA and blood samples, in its charge sheet to hold arrested Kolkata Police civic volunteer Sanjay Roy as the "sole accused" in the rape and murder of a woman doctor at the RG Kar hospital here. The agency mentioned the presence of his DNA on the body of the victim, short hair, blood stains of the victim, injuries on his body, the CCTV footage and the location of his mobile phone as per the call detail records as evidence against Roy. The charge sheet, a copy of which is with PTI, also mentioned that Roy sustained "blunt force injuries consistent with the marks of resistance/struggle by the victim". Roy was arrested by Kolkata Police on August 10. "His (Roy's) presence in RG Kar Medical College & Hospital and also at the third floor of the emergency building where SoC (scene of the crime) lies, during the intervening night of August 8 and 9 is proved by way of CCTV footage. His presence is proved by way of the location ..

RG Kar case: Delhi doctors join Bengal colleagues with hunger strike, march

Doctors at Maulana Azad Medical College in Delhi on Wednesday began a one-day hunger strike to show solidarity with junior doctors in West Bengal who are protesting the brutal rape and murder of a female medic. Doctors at Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital also joined in on Wednesday, wearing black ribbons as a symbol of solidarity and remembrance for their murdered colleague, while the Resident Doctors' Association (RDA) of AIIMS-Delhi announced a candle march scheduled for 6 pm at JLN Stadium. Aparna Setia, president of Maulana Azad Medical College (MAMC) RDA, said doctors are holding a symbolic hunger strike during working hours from 9 am to 4 pm on Wednesday. "During this period, we will abstain from eating or drinking to express our support for the junior doctors in West Bengal who have been on a hunger strike," Setia told PTI. The MAMC is also organising various activities in support of the doctors' cause. The GTB doctors, in a statement, said the black ribbons they wore signif

RG Kar case: Medics association announces nationwide hunger strike on Oct 9

In a move to support the ongoing protest against the alleged rape and murder of a junior doctor in West Bengal, the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) on Monday announced a nationwide hunger strike. The doctors' association held a meeting on Monday and announced that the hunger strike will begin on Wednesday, which will be two months from the day the alleged rape and murder of a trainee doctor at R G Kar Medical College in West Bengal happened on August 9. "We have been in close contact with the West Bengal Junior Doctors' Front and are united in our stance," said Suvrankar Datta, President of FAIMA. "After extensive deliberation, we have decided to organise a nationwide hunger strike in solidarity with our colleagues in West Bengal, Datta said. Datta also emphasised that the hunger strike is intended to amplify the voices of the junior doctors who have been on strike for weeks, advocating for better working conditions, enhanced safety protocols, and other essentia

RG Kar case: Jr doctors continue hunger strike; demand justice, safety

Agitating junior doctors demanding justice for the deceased woman medic of the Kar Medical College and Hospital and workplace safety continued their hunger strike until death on Sunday in the central part of the city's Dharmatala area. Several senior doctors, who have been at the protest site since Saturday night, are also planning to join their junior counterparts in the hunger strike. "The support of these people gives us the courage, the enthusiasm to continue our protest against the gruesome murder of our sister. We are happy to see that people have not forgotten that justice is yet not given and attacks on doctors are still on and the state government has no serious note of our demands," Debasish Halder, one of the agitating doctors, told PTI. The junior medics started their hunger strike untill death on Saturday night after the state government missed the 24-hour deadline of fulfilling their demands by 8.30 pm on Saturday. They had on Friday begun a sit-in demonstration at th

RG Kar case: Junior doctors begin fast unto death ahead of Durga Puja

The junior doctors, protesting over the rape and murder of their colleague at the RG Kar hospital, went on fast unto death on Saturday evening, claiming that their demands were not fulfilled by the West Bengal government. With three days left before the Durga Puja festivities start, the doctors had on Friday begun a sit-in demonstration at the Dorina Crossing in Dharmatala in the heart of Kolkata, setting a 24-hour deadline for the state government to fulfil their demands. "The state government has failed the deadline and hence we are starting the fast unto death, which will continue till our demands are fulfilled. To maintain transparency, we have installed CCTV cameras at the dais where our colleagues are holding the fast," a junior doctor said. "We joined duty last night but will not eat anything," he said, adding that at present six junior doctors were sitting on fast. The six doctors who were sitting on the fast were identified as Snigdha Hazra, Tanaya Panja and Anustup ...

RG Kar case: WB junior doctors likely to call off 'total cease work' today

West Bengal's agitating junior doctors are likely to call off their "total cease work" on Friday and resume normal duties soon after, while continuing their demonstrations demanding justice for their murdered colleague at RG Kar hospital and improved safety measures in medical facilities. After holding a governing body meeting throughout Thursday night, the junior medics decided to hold a rally on Friday afternoon, during which they are likely to announce their decision to withdraw the "total cease work," a source said. However, they plan to set a deadline for the state government to implement their demands, after which they will launch a "indefinite fast" until their promises are fulfilled, he added. "The governing body meeting concluded this morning. We have decided to suspend the total cease work for now, but our demonstrations will continue. We are mindful of the large number of patients relying on state-run hospitals every day," one of the agitating doctors told PTI. Their sen

Ahead of SC hearing on RG Kar case, Bengal docs rally for hospital security

Junior medics from various government hospitals in West Bengal, along with members of the public, participated in torch rallies across the city on Sunday, demanding justice for the murdered doctor of R G Kar Hospital and calling for improved security at their workplaces. The demonstrations took place a day before the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the case involving the alleged rape-murder of the postgraduate trainee. The rallies were organised from several key locations, including R G Kar hospital, Sagore Dutta hospital, SSKM hospital, Calcutta Medical College, and Jadavpur in south Kolkata. Participants, including doctors and community members, emphasised the need for justice for the victim and heightened safety measures for medical staff in state-run facilities. On September 27, junior doctors had urged the public to hold protests across the state in solidarity ahead of Monday's Supreme Court hearing. Having returned to work after a month-long agitation, the junior doctors

Day before SC hearing on rape-murder, Kolkata CP visits R G Kar hospital

Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Verma on Sunday visited R G Kar Medical College and Hospital here, a day before the Supreme Court is to hear the rape-murder case of a post-graduate trainee doctor of the health facility. Sources said that Verma took stock of the security system at the hospital, spoke to the police personnel present there, and went to the emergency department. The police commissioner's visit comes a day before the rape-murder case comes up for hearing again before the Supreme Court on Monday. A mob attack at the hospital took place in the early hours of August 15, vandalising the emergency department of the government-run hospital, just a day after the Calcutta High Court had ordered the transfer of investigation into the rape-murder case to the CBI. The city police are investigating the vandalism at the hospital. Junior doctors, who resumed work after more than a month-long agitation seeking justice for their murdered colleague, said on Saturday night that they w

Abuse, fear, and silence: Female health workers at risk in Pakistan

A report by the US National Institutes of Health in 2022 revealed that up to 95 per cent of nurses in Pakistan had faced workplace violence at least once during their careers

RG Kar case: Doctors resume duties partially at some hospitals in Bengal

Junior doctors on Saturday rejoined their duties partially at various government-run hospitals in West Bengal after a hiatus of 42 days. They were on 'cease work' in protest against the rape-murder of an on-duty woman doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. While they returned to essential and emergency services at all state-run hospitals, the doctors continued to refrain from working in the outpatient departments (OPDs). "We have started rejoining duties today. Our colleagues are returning to their respective departments for essential and emergency services, but not at the OPDs. This is only a partial resumption of duties," said Aniket Mahato, one of the protesting doctors. Aniket, along with colleagues Lahri Sarkar and Raktim Majumder, even operated on a woman patient at the hospital. He said some of their peers had already left for flood-hit areas of the state to set up 'Abhaya clinics' (medical camps), underscoring their commitment to public health despite ongoing ...

Bengal medics call off 'ceasework', to resume work partially from Saturday

Junior doctors agitating over the RG Kar incident called off their cease work' on Friday evening, announcing partial resumption of duties entailing attending essential services in state-run hospitals from Saturday. Ending the logjam persisting for 42 days, the medics withdrew the cease work' after holing a march to the CBI office in Salt Lake from the state health department's headquarters, where they had been demonstrating for over a week. The procession covered a distance of around 4 km from the Swasthya Bhawan' to the CGO Complex. The medics have said they would not work in the Outpatient Department (OPD), but partially function in emergency and essential services. The doctors had called the cease work' and staged the sit-in outside the state health department headquarters in the wake of the rape and murder of a young medic at RG Kar hospital.

RG Kar: Doctors allege police pressure as decorators dismantle protest site

Agitating junior doctors on Thursday alleged that decorators were removing tents, bamboo shafts and pedestal fans from the protest site in front of Swasthya Bhawan after they were allegedly pressurised by the police to do so. The police, however, denied these allegations as baseless. The agitating doctors said that around midnight, decorators, who had themselves donated tarpaulin, beds, tents and pedestal fans, were seen removing those from the sit-in site outside the state health department headquarters in Salt Lake. A junior doctor claimed that there was confusion when decorators began opening the tents, but they were assured that these items would be replaced soon. "All arrangements for the sit-in are being funded by the public. Some decorators volunteered to provide us with tents, fans, bamboo shafts, and makeshift beds. When we contacted them about why they were taking down the items, they said they would replace these soon as they needed to use these items for making Durga Pu

Boundary walls to washrooms: Odisha issues new safety policy for doctors

In response to the Kolkata rape and murder case, the Odisha government has introduced new safety measures at hospitals, colleges, and hostels

Kolkata rape case: SC orders financial probe, Wikipedia to remove names

Supreme Court raised concerns over West Bengal's staffing policies in hospitals during the suo moto hearing on the Kolkata rape and murder case

Kolkata rape case: Doctors demand police resignation, transparency in probe

RG Kar Rape-Murder Case: Junior doctors across India are demanding government accountability and an impartial, transparent probe into the rape and murder case of trainee doctor in Kolkata

RG Kar incident: Protesting doctors write to Prez, PM seeking intervention

Agitating junior doctors in West Bengal have written to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting their intervention in the RG Kar hospital impasse. Copies of the four-page letter written by the West Bengal Junior Doctors' Front were also sent to Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar and Union Health Minister JP Nadda. A post-graduate trainee was raped and murdered in state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9. Junior doctors have been on 'cease work' since then. "We humbly place the issues before your esteemed excellency, as the head of state, so that our unfortunate colleague who has been the victim of the most despicable crime shall receive justice, and so that we, the healthcare professionals under the West Bengal Health department, may be able to discharge our duties to the public without fear and apprehension. "Your intervention in these trying times will act as a beacon of light to us all, showing us the way ahead out of the darkness that

Govt to pay Rs 2 lakh to families of 29 who died due to 'ceasework': Mamata

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday announced that the state government would pay a compensation of Rs two lakh to the families of each of the 29 people who died allegedly after not getting treatment due to the ongoing 'cease work' of agitating junior doctors. "It is sad and unfortunate that we have lost 29 precious lives due to disruption in health services because of long-drawn cease work by junior doctors," Banerjee posted on X. "In order to extend a helping hand to the bereaved families, state government announces a token financial relief of Rs 2 lakh to family members of each deceased person," she added. The junior doctors have been on 'cease work' since August 9 when the body of an on-duty postgraduate trainee was found in state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. She was allegedly raped and murdered.

RG Kar hospital incident: Victim's mother says all protesting her children

People from all walks of life - former students of several educational institutions, clay modellers, rickshaw pullers and junior doctors separately hit the streets of Kolkata on Sunday in continued protest over the rape and murder of a medic in a state-run hospital a month ago. Demanding the arrest of all culprits in the case, the mother of the post-graduate trainee whose body was found in RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9 said she had one child and now all the protesting medics are her children. In south Kolkata, around 4,000 former students of over 40 schools, a large number of them women, walked a distance of 2 km demanding justice for the victim. The former students of various ages chanted 'We Want Justice' as they walked along Rash Behari Avenue to the crossing of Shyamaprasad Mukherjee Road from Gariahat. Ex-students of institutes like Binodini Girls School, Mitra Institution, Garfa High School, Carmel High School and St John's Diocesan took part in the ...

Doctor murder: WB govt proposes capital punishment for rape convict in Bill

The draft of the anti-rape Bill, scheduled to be tabled by the Mamata Banerjee government in the West Bengal Assembly on Tuesday, proposes capital punishment for persons convicted of rape if their actions result in the victim's death or cause her to become vegetative. Additionally, the draft stated that persons convicted of rape and gang-rape would receive a life sentence lasting for the rest of their natural lives. Titled 'Aparajita Woman and Child Bill, (West Bengal Criminal Laws and Amendment) Bill 2024,' the legislation aims to enhance protection for women and children by amending and introducing new provisions related to rape and sexual offences. The draft Bill proposes to amend the newly passed Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita 2023, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 laws and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012 "in their application to the state of West Bengal to enhance punishment and to constitute the framework for...expeditious investigation and trial of th

'Deeply sorry': Mamata dedicates Trinamool foundation day to Kolkata victim

The West Bengal Chief Minister's message comes after a protest march, dubbed 'Nabanna Abhijan', where security forces used water cannons, lathi-charges, and tear gas to disperse protestors