Baishali Mukherjee

Protesting junior doctors of Kolkata on October 21 withdrew their 17-day-long hunger strike after a delegation of 17 junior doctors held a two-hour-long live-streamed meeting with chief minister Mamata Banerjee at the state secretariat Nabanna. The docs had been staging a ‘fast-unto-death’ since October 5, at Dorina Crossing in the Esplanade area of central Kolkata, demanding justice for the RG Kar Medical College medic, who was raped and murdered on August 9. Their demands also included removal of the police commissioner,  and state health department top brass from their respective positions, sanction Rs 100 crore for infrastructure development in hospitals for doctors and rebuilding of patient welfare committees, create a special task force to tackle safety-security measures in hospitals, to set up of an effective and responsive grievance redressal mechanism across hospitals and colleges and to stop the threat syndicate in medical colleges across the state.

After the meeting, the agitating doctors also withdrew their call for a complete strike on October 22 by all doctors, including the senior medical practitioners. However, the junior doctors have decided to continue their “movement” over the issue of malpractices in the medical education of the state and in doing so have called a “mass convention” on October 26 to decide the way forward of their agitation. “We will not flee from the battleground. We will continue our fight for justice as well as safety at medical colleges and hospitals,” Asfaqulla Naiya, a representative of junior doctors, told the media. 

During the talks, Mamata Banerjee announced that the safety of doctors and other staff members will be ensured at workplaces and also agreed to form a state-level 10-member task force including five representatives each from the state government and the junior doctors and with at least one lady doc representing the junior medics in the force. The chief minister also stressed on transparency in medical examinations and proposed to hold the students’ union elections in March next year. The medics however, demanded that different committees at medical colleges and hospitals should have elected, not selected, student representatives. Meanwhile, on October 15, the state government launched a central referral system with MR Bangur Hospital, the destination hospital for referrals — as demanded by the protesting junior doctors — that will ensure that a government hospital refers a patient to another state-run facility only if the latter has a vacant bed and the facilities to treat the patient.

The horrific rape and murder of a second year PG trainee doctor, at her workplace, RG Kar Medical College and Hospital (estb. 1886) on August 9 brutally rocked the City of Joy, Kolkata (pop. 4.5 million). The 31-year-old doctor was resting at the seminar hall of the medical college after a 36 hour shift on the night of August 9, when she was killed. While Kolkata Police’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) has taken into custody a police civic volunteer, Sanjay Roy, as the prime suspect, and transferred the case to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on August 13, while the Supreme Court has also taken suo moto cognizance of the case on August 20, there hasn’t been any major breakthrough yet.

The CBI is still grappling with the multifaceted and disturbing case as investigation is uncovering a complex array of potential issues, including allegations of fake drug schemes, academic bribery, prostitution rings, and even disturbing claims involving necrophilia, under Principal Sandip Ghosh’s watch. As CBI sleuths grill Ghosh and ex-medical superintendent and vice principal Sanjay Vashisth in the connection, the evolving nature of the case suggests that the crime may be part of a larger, more sinister operation within the institution.

At a time when unemployment (7.6 million registered unemployed youth) has become a major problem inherited by Banerjee, the tragic rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor at such a prestigious medical college is a significant setback for Bengal’s medical education and healthcare sector. Academic eggheads of Kolkata feel that the horrific incident by intensifying concerns about the safety of women doctors who often work late hours in challenging conditions, might discourage girls from pursuing careers in medicine or accepting postings in certain areas in Bengal, further exacerbating the gender imbalance in the state’s medical field.

Also, given that students studying in the district medical colleges are more likely to serve the 68.13% population living in Bengal’s 37945 villages as physicians, the flawed system of cheating and distribution of question papers prior to exams in medical colleges, would eventually lead to substandard care-givers for the grassroots. Hence, accusations and demands for accountability are increasing, with calls for a thorough investigation, questions about the integrity of the medical education system and demands for measures in place to ensure safety of medical practitioners. 

As the case develops and junior doctors continue their quest for justice, alarming revelations of significant corruption within the state government are amplifying scrutiny of the TMC’s administration. Political analysts in the state caution that the RG Kar case is a pivotal issue that could trigger increased political instability for Banerjee, potentially signalling the début de la fin for her long-standing leadership in West Bengal.

Also read: RG Kar case: Bill for capital punishment for convicted rapists in Bengal, says Mamata