WBJDA meet on Nov 9 seeking submission of charge sheet by CBI in RG Kar case

IANS, Oct 31 2024, Kolkata : West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Association (WBJDA) has organised a mass convention on November 9 demanding quick submission of the final charge sheet by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital rape and murder case.

The WBJDA is the rival of the West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front (WBJDF) that originally began the protests against the rape and murder of a woman junior doctor in August.

According to the office bearers of WBJDA, which reportedly has the backing of the ruling Trinamool Congress, they have chosen November 9 as the day of the mass convention since it marks the completion of three months since the body of the victim was found in the seminar room of R.G. Kar on the morning of August 9.

“So many days have passed since the CBI has taken over the investigation. But there had been no progress in their probe in the matter. So our main demands at the proposed mass convention will be quick submission of the final charge sheet by the CBI so that the trial process in the case can be started at the earliest,” said a doctor from the association.

Incidentally, on Wednesday evening, WBJDF, the original umbrella body of junior doctors spearheading the protest along with thousands of common people, organised a torch rally to the CBI’s office at Salt Lake with a similar demand for the central agency to arrive at a quick and logical conclusion in its probe in the case.

Since the WBJDA was allegedly floated as a counter to the WBJDF, the ongoing protest on the issue has started taking a murky turn, with the two rival associations hurling allegations against each other.

On one hand, the WBJDF has accused WBJDA of being a group of those junior doctors who had been accused of “threat culture” within the premises of medical colleges and hospitals in the state.

The WBJDA office bearers have also been accused of enjoying the patronage of erstwhile influential persons from the medical fraternity like the former principal of R.G. Kar, Sandip Ghosh.

On the other hand, representatives in the WBJDA have accused the WBJDF members of exploiting the rape and murder issues to serve self-interest, which includes mobilisation of funds from the public in the name of the protests.

The WBJDA has demanded that the state government probe the activists of the WBJDF, including the source of funds mobilised by the front.