OPD services hit in Bengal hospitals; 25-member CBI team begins probe
KOLKATA, Aug 14: Healthcare services across West Bengal were disrupted on Wednesday as doctors continued their cease-work, protesting the rape-murder of a woman doctor.
Long queues were seen at outpatient department (OPD) ticket counters in government hospitals, where senior doctors joined their junior colleagues in the protest.
Private hospitals also kept their outpatient departments “closed” to express solidarity with the agitating junior doctors at state-run hospitals.
“We have no new demands. It appears that attempts are being made to protect certain people. Some people have tried to tamper with evidence by starting construction on the same floor of RG Kar hospital where our colleague was raped and murdered. We see no reason to stop our protest,” an agitating doctor told PTI.
The West Bengal Joint Platform of Doctors called for a cease-work at OPDs across all government and private hospitals in the state. Junior and senior doctors, interns, and house staff wore black armbands and chanted slogans, demanding justice for the victim.
“Emergency services are still operational, but we must protest to ensure justice for the victim. We apologise for the inconvenience caused to some patients,” a protester said.
Similar scenes were reported at SSKM Hospital, Calcutta Medical College and Hospital, National Medical College and Hospital, and other medical facilities across the state.
In private hospitals, including Manipal, Medica, Peerless, and RN Tagore, doctors, nurses, and staff also wore black badges and marched from Mukundapur to Ruby Crossing, demanding justice.
CBI team arrives
A 25-member special team of the CBI led by an additional director on Wednesday began its investigation into the alleged rape and murder of a doctor at a state-run hospital in West Bengal as the agency took custody of the key accused, officials said.
A source in the CBI said the agency has filed an FIR under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) in New Delhi in connection with the alleged rape and murder of the doctor.
The probe team primarily drawn from special crime unit of the agency and also its local unit immediately swung into action after reaching Kolkata this morning, taking possession of all the documents from Kolkata Police on the probe done by it so far, the officials said.
The team that also includes a joint director besides medical and forensic experts, and officers having extensive experience in special crime cases visited the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital’s seminar hall, where the body of the trainee doctor was found on August 9, they said.
The Kolkata Police handed over key suspect Sanjoy Roy to the CBI at the CGO Complex in Kolkata after his medical tests were conducted at the state-run SSKM Hospital.
The CBI team will camp in Kolkata till the case is solved, the officials said.
Three groups of CBI officers have been formed to investigate the matter, an official of the central agency said.
“One group will visit the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, and talk to the witnesses and the doctors who were on duty on that night. Another team will take the arrested civic volunteer to a local court after medical tests and plea for his custody, while another will coordinate with the Kolkata Police sleuths who were conducting the investigation,” the official said.
“Our officers will seek the call details of the deceased woman and those on duty on that day. They may submit the FIR in a local court,” another central agency source said.
Two CBI officers on Tuesday evening went to the Tala Police Station here and took possession of documents related to Kolkata Police’s investigation.
Mamata welcomes CBI probe
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday welcomed the Calcutta High Court order granting a CBI probe into the alleged rape and murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
She also slammed the opposition CPI(M) and the BJP for allegedly trying to politicise the incident and fuel protests in the state, taking a cue from the student agitation in Bangladesh.
The chief minister also appealed to the protesting doctors to lift the cease work and join duties as healthcare services are badly impacted.
“We would abide by the Calcutta High Court’s order and extend all support to the CBI.
We have no problem with CBI being handed over the case as we want it solved at the earliest,” she said.
The high court on Tuesday transferred the rape and murder case of the doctor to the CBI from the Kolkata Police.
“We have taken all possible actions in this case, but still, a malicious campaign is on,” she said while addressing a programme organised by the party on the eve of Independence Day.
“Abuse me as much as you want, but please don’t abuse the state,” she said.
AIIMS, Safdarjung
doctors to continue strike
Several city hospitals, including the AIIMS and Safdarjung, continued their strike on Wednesday in protest against the alleged rape and murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata.
The Resident Doctors’ Associations of AIIMS, VMMC and Safdarjung Hospital, Ram Manohar Lohia, and Indira Gandhi Hospital continued the strike for a third day on the trot, shutting down OPDs, OTs, and wards.
The Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA), after a meeting with Resident Doctor Associations (RDAs) from across states and Institutes of National Importance, in a statement said it will stand with its peers nationwide in denouncing the murder and continue its strike. (PTI)