RG Kar Issue: Junior Doctors' Strike Continues, Unwavering in Demand for Justice

Kolkata :Junior doctors in West Bengal continued their strike for the 38th consecutive day on Monday. The strike was initiated in response to the rape and murder of a female doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. For the past eight days, the doctors have been staging a protest in front of the state health department's headquarters, demanding justice. They have stated that they will continue their strike until their demands are met, which include the removal of the Kolkata Police Commissioner and senior state health officials.

On Saturday, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee made an unexpected visit to the protest site and assured the doctors that their concerns would be addressed. However, the proposed meeting failed when the protesting doctors, after waiting for three hours at the Chief Minister's residence, were asked to leave without any respectful resolution.

One of the protesting doctors claimed that they had agreed to attend the meeting without live-streaming or recording, at the Chief Minister’s request. However, when they informed State Health Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya of this decision, they were told that it was too late for the meeting.

Previous attempts at negotiations between Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the junior doctors had also failed due to disagreements over live-streaming and the number of representatives allowed at the meetings.

The body of the postgraduate female doctor was found on August 9 in the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is conducting the inquiry into the case. The main accused, civic volunteer Sanjay Rai, along with former RG Kar Principal Sandip Ghosh and the then-in-charge of Tala police station Abhijit Mandal, have been arrested in connection with the case.