CBI summons 4 doctors of Kolkata college; protests continue against rape, murder of doctor

KOLKATA: Four doctors of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital have been summoned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Kolkata, on Friday amid the ongoing protest over the rape-murder of a trainee doctor, sources said.

According to the sources, the CBI will interrogate these PGT (PG trainees) regarding what happened on the night of the incident. The accused Sanjoy Roy has also been brought out of CBI Special Crime Branch in CGO complex, Kolkata. He is being taken for medical examination.

#WATCH | RG Kar Medical College and Hospital rape case | 4 PGT doctors of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital have been summoned by CBI Special Crime Branch at CGO complex, Salt Lake, Kolkata for questioning regarding what happened the night of the incident.

Visuals of their… https://t.co/2TP6qd9VTr pic.twitter.com/01Y8kmPVwx

— ANI (@ANI) August 16, 2024

Meanwhile, doctors across the nation intensified their protests over the rape and murder of the trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College. Junior doctors and medical students at Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad staged a protest against the rape and murder of a woman resident doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

Dr Priyanka from Gandhi Hospital said, “I am from Kolkata myself… I have been speaking to my friends back home about the mob attacks on hostels to destroy evidence because they know the gravity of the situation. They know that we are united all across the country and they are trying their best to scare our colleagues in Bengal. Our friends and colleagues in Bengal are spending sleepless nights because they are scared and even they don’t know what going to happen next… Our fight will not end soon, it will continue and we will escalate it if needed”.

In Delhi, junior doctors and medical students at RML Hospital staged a protest against the rape and murder of a woman resident doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. The doctors are also expected to gather at Nirman Bhavan later in the day to stage a larger protest.

Dr Akash from RML Hospital said, “I appeal to all doctors and common people to reach Nirman Bhawan in large numbers so that we can peacefully put forward our issues in front of the government and seek justice for our colleague from Bengal who lost her life to this barbaric and gruesome act. We also want to tell our friends protesting in Bengal that they are not alone in this fight, all doctors across the country stand in solidarity with them… We demand a Central Protection Act from the government. Our protest will continue till we do not get assurance from the government that concrete steps will be taken”.

Meanwhile, a 12-hour general strike on Friday has been called in Siliguri by the Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) over the rape-murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College. The strike disrupted normal life in Siliguri and most shops in the city were closed since 6 pm.

A member of SUCI (Communist), Dr Shahriar Alam, said, “Today, this strike has a huge impact. People have spontaneously responded to our call and throughout Siliguri like the Medical College area, people have not taken out their vehicles, and they have not opened the shops. We can say that the impact is very good. We have called this strike to protest against the heinous incident at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital”.

He further said that the strike was also called to protest against the vandalism at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. “The brutal rape and murder and then two days ago at midnight outsider goons attacked and assaulted the doctors, nurses, protesters and even the patients. They broke everything inside the hospital to clear away the evidence so that the murderers and rapists can be saved. In protest, we have called for a strike. This movement has spread throughout the country and abroad. Doctors, nurses and people have expressed their solidarity”, he said.

A nationwide withdrawal of services has been announced by doctors of modern medicine starting from 6 am on Saturday, August 17 to 6 am Sunday, August 18, per the official statement released by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) on Thursday.

On Thursday police said that a mob of between 5,000 and 7,000 people, including several individuals invaded RG Kar Hospital, attacked protesting doctors and medical students, and attempted to ransack the premises on the night of August 14.

On August 9, a postgraduate trainee doctor was raped and murdered on duty at RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata, which has led to nationwide strikes and protests by the medical fraternity. (ANI)