Doctors set to resume work but protests continue to rage in Kolkata

Kolkata doctor case: Healthcare workers and civil society protest in West Bengal for justice after doctor's rape and murder, demanding swift investigation and punishment.

A day after junior doctors called off their ceasework agitation, healthcare workers and thousands of civil society protesters took to the streets of Kolkata on Friday (September 20, 2024) seeking justice for the doctor who was raped and killed at the R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital (RGKMCH) last month.

The West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front (WBJDF) took out a rally from the State Health Department headquarters (Swasthya Bhawan) to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) office at the CGO Complex around 3 p.m. In the evening, thousands of people from different walks of life joined a 40-km-long relay torch rally from the city’s Hiland Park area to north Kolkata’s Shyambazar.

It has been 41 days since the female trainee doctor was raped and killed on duty at RGKMCH on August 9. So far, the Kolkata Police have arrested one person in connection with the case. Two persons have been arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation on charges of evidence tampering and delay in filing FIR.

“The State government should not see this [ending ceasework protest] as our weakness,” protesting junior doctor Aniket Mahato said at the rally on Friday (September 20, 2024). “We believe the State government’s directives will be implemented as was promised to us. We are resuming work in emergency services from Saturday (September 21, 2024) and continuing our Abhaya Clinic initiative.” 

He said the WBJDF hoped that the support they received from common people, healthcare workers and civil society groups towards ensuring justice for the victim would continue as their movement progressed.

Another protesting junior doctor, Debasish Halder, said the doctors would continue their sit-in across medical colleges. “We will also run free-of-cost ‘Abhaya Clinic’ medical camps for the people affected by floods in south Bengal, because that is our duty,” he said.

The torch procession on Friday (September 20, 2024) was jointly called by several professional and civil society groups, including feminist organisations, the Bengal chapter of the Indian Medical Association, fan clubs of football teams, alumni associations of city schools, etc. The torch carried by protesters was relayed across multiple points from Hiland Park to Shyambazar.