Faced with intensifying protests and withdrawal of services by junior doctors at all Government hospitals following the rape and murder of a trainee doctor inside a Government hospital in Kolkata, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said her Government would ask the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to take over the RG Kar hospital doctor murder probe if the Kolkata Police fail to solve the case by August 18.
Meanwhile, the Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association India (FORDA) announced a nationwide halt of elective services in hospitals beginning Monday.
“This decision is not taken lightly, but it is necessary to ensure that our voices are heard and the demands for justice and safety are met without further delay,” the Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA) said in a statement.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Meanwhile. met the family of the murdered doctor at their residence in North 24 Parganas district and said: “I want the police to arrest the culprits. There are some insiders. If the police can’t solve the case by Sunday, then we will give it to the CBI. We have nothing to be bothered about. However, the rate of success in CBI investigations is very poor.”
“Nurses were there, the hospital’s own security personnel were also there. I fail to understand how this happened. The victim’s parents told me somebody from inside was involved. The police will talk to everyone,” said Banerjee.
“Kolkata Police is the best police force in the world. The best officer has been entrusted with the investigation,” Banerjee added.
Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal, who accompanied the Chief Minister, said they would question everyone who was present at the site of the crime.
“We will question all those who were near the place of occurrence of the crime. We have even given a helpline number in case someone wants to talk to us anonymously”, he said.
While trainee doctors at R G Kar and State-run hospitals across Bengal and many other States intensified their agitation demanding justice for the 31-year-old victim, Dr Sandip Ghosh, principal of R G Kar Hospital said he resigned from his position on Monday morning.
“He tendered his resignation saying his children are getting disturbed by the media reports. However, we told him that he would be transferred to another hospital,” said Banerjee.
Kolkata Police meanwhile, intensified its efforts to find out if Sanjay Roy, the prime suspect who is a civic volunteer attached to the Kolkata Police, committed the crime alone or whether he had an accomplice.
The security camera footage that led to Roy’s arrest indicated the crime took place within 30 minutes, the investigators said.
“The nature of the multiple injuries found on the victim’s upper body may prompt anyone to suspect that Roy was not alone. The fact that he had no noticeable injury on his body, something natural in such cases because victims fight back, leads to the suspicion that the sexual assault could have taken place after the murder,” a police official said on condition of anonymity.
The semi-nude body of a second-year student of the respiratory medicine department was found inside the seminar hall of the State-run hospital in Kolkata on Friday.
A preliminary autopsy report suggested that she was sexually assaulted and murdered. Police have registered a case of rape and murder, and a special investigation team (SIT) has been set up to probe the case.
The protests over the alleged rape and murder of a trainee doctor reverberated across the country with Resident Doctors Associations (RDA) expressing solidarity with their counterparts in Bengal and holding demonstrations.
The Resident Doctors Association (RDA) of RG Kar Medical College said they would call off the protests only after their demands were met.
“We have released a set of four demands – judicial probe, written apology from hospital authorities, compensation for the woman’s family, police must publish the progress of the probe regularly,” said a doctor of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
The Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors announced suspension of elective and non-emergency medical services by resident doctors from August 13.
At Rohtak, resident doctors along with interns said the outpatient department (OPDs) will not be operational for two hours on Monday.
The RDA of Safdarjung and Vardhman Mahavir Medical College (VMMC) in New Delhi decided to shut down elective services including OPD, elective OTs, and ward duties indefinitely starting from Monday.
In Uttar Pradesh, the RDA has also decided to suspend non-essential medical services.
Security arrangements at the hospital were reviewed by the State Government while the State Health Department, headed by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, replaced the hospital principal and superintendent.
Two contractual security guards were also suspended, a Health Department official said on condition of anonymity.
