Resident doctors in Kerala to observe strike on Friday seeking justice for Kolkata rape-murder victim

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 15 (IANS) Expressing solidarity with those seeking justice for a junior doctor raped and murdered at a state-run hospital in Kolkata last week, resident doctors and PG medical students in Kerala will observe a strike across hospitals in the state on Friday demanding quick action against the guilty. 

According to the Kerala Medical Post Graduates Association (KMPGA), PG doctors will boycott all non-emergency services, including duty in the out patient departments as well as wards, on Friday. However, the strike will not affect emergency services in the hospitals, the association said. 

The demands they are raising include implementation of the Central Protection Act -- a detailed national law protecting medical professionals from violence at workplaces -- and arrest of the perpetrators of the brutal rape-murder in Kolkata within 48 hours.

Meanwhile, the Kerala Government Medical Officers Association (KGMOA) has decided to observe Friday as 'black day' for which the junior doctors in the premier medical institutions of the state have expressed solidarity.

On August 9, the body of the 31-year-old junior doctor was found in the seminar hall of the R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, triggering a nationwide uproar.

So far, one civic volunteer has been arrested in connection with the case which the Calcutta High Court handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday.  

On Wednesday night, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee demanded the CBI to complete the investigation by Sunday (August 18) and ensure that those found guilty are hanged. 

“We are going to press for the hanging of the accused by Sunday. Our Kolkata Police had already completed 90 per cent of the investigation. I am going to lead a protest march on August 16... I request all the mothers and sisters to join me.” the Chief Minister said.

A couple of days after the body of the victim was found in the seminar hall of the hospital, the Chief Minister had set a deadline till Sunday for the Kolkata Police to complete the investigation, failing which she said the case would be handed over to the CBI.

However, before the said deadline, the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday handed over the probe to the central agency with immediate effect.

Political observers feel that the new deadline set by the Chief Minister for the CBI is a clandestine attempt to build up the pressure on the probe agency.

--IANS

sg/arm