Kolkata rape-murder case: JIPMER resident doctors in Puducherry launch indefinite strike

JIPMER Resident Doctors' Association strikes for justice, safety, and security in the wake of recent tragedies.

The JIPMER Resident Doctors’ Association (JRDA) launched an indefinite strike on Tuesday (August 13, 2024) shutting down all elective OPDs and other procedures, barring emergency services, to press for expeditious action in the recent rape-murder of a PG trainee at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata.

The JRDA said around 600 junior doctors participated in the strike to in solidarity with protests happening nation-wide on the issue.

The Association, which went ahead with the agitation in spite of a warning from the JIPMER administration of disciplinary action invoking Rule 7 of Central Civil Services /Conduct) Rules, 1964, later released a statement that put forth a set of demands that included exclusive legislation to protect doctors from workplace violence and abuse, transferring the case to the CBI and action against police responsible for assaulting protesting doctors.

The Association also called for measures to ensure a safe and secure workplace for duty doctors, training of security personnel with a focus on preventing threats to doctors and round-the-clock CCTV coverage within the premises of the hospital.

The JIPMER Faculty Association also stood in solidarity with the Indian Medical Association in demanding speedy justice and joined in the nation-wide condemnation of the conditions that allowed such a tragedy to occur.

A place of learning and healing should never be a place of fear and murder. The failure to protect those within our institutions is a failure of society as a whole, JFA president Bikash Kumar Naredi said.

The JFA also pointed out the tragedy in Kolkata was not an isolated incident; a 25-year-old house surgeon at Kottarakkara taluk hospital in Kollam, was stabbed to death in May 2023. Citing increasing instances of violence against healthcare workers, particularly those on the front lines, the JFA urged for the implementation of Central Protection Act.