‘Unsatisfied’ with Mamata meeting, junior doctors to hold convention at RG Kar Medical College on Saturday

Doctors say email from CM expected on Tuesday; convention to discuss next steps in movement for justice, and safety in government hospitals

A replica of Abhaya at Dorina Crossing

Nancy Jaiswal, TT, Calcutta, 22.10.24 : Junior doctors from Bengal  have called for a mass convention at RG Kar Medical College on Saturday to discuss how they will continue their movement for justice in the rape-murder case, and safety in government hospitals. 

The announcement came after they ended their hunger strike on Monday following an appeal from the parents of the postgraduate trainee doctor who was raped and murdered at RG Kar on August 9.

“Today by 3pm we are supposed to receive written assurance from the CM, which was discussed in the meeting yesterday,” Subhayan Mandal, an MBBS student at Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital, told The Telegraph Online.  

“On Saturday, we have called for a mass convention, for which we will soon release a poster where we will mention the points that we will discuss. We are definitely not satisfied with the meeting held yesterday,” Mandal added. 

Doctors on Hunger strike at Dorina Crossing

During the convention, the junior doctors will outline their plans to ensure their demands for a safer working environment and justice for the victim are met. The protesters have emphasised that their movement will not end until these objectives are achieved. 

The West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front is leading the initiative.

“There will be a mass convention where we will discuss the further progress of the movement,” a protesting doctor from Calcutta Medical College told The Telegraph Online. 

Last hour of Hunger strike

Since we have withdrawn from the hunger strike and cease-work, we will discuss in what form we can continue our movement for the justice of our dear departed Abhaya. The convention may start at 2pm or 4pm, nothing is sure. We will discuss how we can further create pressure to get our demands met. Today we will get written assurance from the CM side. 

“Yesterday, the meeting with the CM was unsatisfactory, her body language was hostile,” the doctor said. “She asked the principals of different colleges how they can suspend the 59 students who have been accused of different crimes as these are just complaints and nothing has been proven. She was basically taking sides of the accused people.”

The junior doctors have been in discussions with the state government regarding the formation of a state-level task force, which was announced by chief minister Mamata Banerjee. 

This task force will investigate complaints related to government medical colleges and district hospitals. Although the government promised that four junior doctors and a woman medical student would be part of this task force, the doctors have requested more representation and clarity on the task force's structure and operation.

The junior doctors also remain focused on ensuring that the incident at RG Kar Medical College is not repeated. 

“Whenever we end a protest we end it with a convention,” Dr Anubhab Saha, an intern at RG Kar, told The Telegraph Online. 

“Back in the year 2021 when we protested against Sandip Ghosh, that protest also ended with a convention. We also need to learn work and we wish to return to our duties. We have faced a lot of injustice in our college. There have been students who were failed intentionally, because of which there are less interns and the pressure is immense. 

“The people who were close to Sandip Ghosh never used to do duties and used to pressure others to do their work,” Saha added.  

“As far as I have heard they have now fled to another country and probably Nepal, where our senior who is also close to Sandip Ghosh, stays”