The Kolkata rape-murder case will be heard in the Supreme Court today. In the last hearing held on October 15, the court expressed its dissatisfaction with the work of the National Task Force (NTF). Also, the NTF was directed to give its suggestions on the safety of doctors within 3 weeks.
A bench headed by CJI DY Chandrachud said the NTF has been mandated to frame protocols to ensure the safety of doctors and other health workers, but it is working at a very slow pace.
The court said that the first meeting of the NTF was held on August 27. Surprisingly, no meeting took place after September 9. Why has no further work been done? The task force has to speed up its work.
Also, on November 4, West Bengal's Sealdah court framed charges against Sanjay Roy, the main accused in the RG tax case. The hearing of this case will be held from November 11.
A trainee doctor girl was raped and murdered on the night of August 8 at the RG Kar Hospital in Kolkata. The victim's body was found on August 9. Doctors across the country demonstrated for 42 days regarding this.
Charges have been framed against the accused in the Kolkata rape-murder case after 87 days
On November 4, the Sealdah court framed charges against accused Sanjay Roy. The hearing of this case will be held from November 11. After the demonstration, when the police took Sanjay out, he was seen on camera for the first time saying that Mamata Sarkar was framing him. He has been threatened not to open his mouth.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has named Sanjay Roy as the main accused in its charge sheet. Apart from this, this case has been called a case of rape instead of gang-rape. The chargesheet also said that the semen sample and blood recovered from the victim's body matched that of the accused. After forensic investigation, the short hair found at the crime scene also matched the hair of the accused.
The CBI's charge sheet includes statements of 100 witnesses, reports of 12 polygraph tests, CCTV footage, forensic reports, call details and location of mobiles. Apart from this, on the day of the incident, the accused's earphones and mobiles were connected through Bluetooth. This has also been considered as important evidence in the charge sheet.
The West Bengal Junior Doctors Front submitted a petition to the Governor demanding justice in the RG tax case.
Doctors' fast to death continues in protest against RG incident The fast to death of doctors, which started on October 5, is continuing in protest against the incident. Many doctors have been hospitalized due to ill health. A meeting of doctors with West Bengal Chief Secretary Manoj Pant was held on 4 November, which yielded no results.
After coming out of the meeting, the president of West Bengal Doctors Forum Dr. Kaushik said – nothing happened, the result is zero. It's been 10 days, 4 doctors are in ICU and one more sick. We requested the government to talk to the protesting doctors, but they said they will see, they are being arrogant.
On October 26, a group of junior doctors on hunger strike formed a separate organization. He alleges that the doctors of the West Bengal Junior Front have diverted the movement away from the basic demand for justice for the RG tax incident and have turned to personal targets. The new Doctors Association has named itself West Bengal Junior Doctors Association.
Read step by step what happened during the hunger strike…
13 October
- Chief Secretary's Appeal – Doctors to call off strike for 1 day: Bengal Government Chief Secretary Manoj Pant has mailed doctors asking them to go on a hunger strike and protest for a day on October 15, as the Pujo Carnival will begin on Rani Roshni Road, which will be attended by thousands of people from across the state.
12 October
- Govt said – Resignation of doctors not valid: More than 200 doctors have resigned from RG Kar Medical College and other hospitals in West Bengal. In this regard, the Bengal government has said that this is an ordinary letter, it has no legal value. However, several doctors have made it clear that their resignations were symbolic and that they are still seeing patients.
- Doctors said – Police are forcing: The doctors who are on hunger strike said that the Bengal Police is forcing them to end the strike. We are being pressured by our patients to end that strike.
11 October
- Report of the Chief Secretary: Chief Secretary Manoj Pant sent a status report on ongoing health initiatives in West Bengal. He said in a mail to doctors – 7,051 CCTV cameras, 893 new duty rooms and 778 washrooms are being constructed in medical colleges to increase the security of doctors. Apart from this, alarm system and biometric access control system are also being installed in all hospitals.
- IMA Chief Doctors met: IMA Chief Dr. Ashokan met doctors on hunger strike. He said – these children are not fighting for themselves, but for the welfare of the people. They are true heroes and we are proud of them.
10 October
- Mamata sent 4 doctors: The Mamata government sent 4 specialist doctors to the hunger strike site to get information about the health of the doctors on hunger strike. He advised the doctors to admit him to the hospital before his health deteriorated.
9 October
- Chief Secretary and Doctors strike meeting: A group of doctors held a meeting with Chief Secretary Manoj Pant for about 2 hours on October 9. About 20 representatives of medical colleges from across the state attended the meeting held at the health department headquarters in Salt Lake. Doctors allege that they got nothing but consolation. The junior doctor said – the state government has asked to consider the demands after Durga Puja.
- Resignation of more than 100 doctors: 106 doctors and faculties of RG Kar Hospital resigned. 19 doctors from Jalpaiguri Medical College and Hospital, 42 from North Bengal Medical College and Hospital in Siliguri, 35 from Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital and around 70 doctors from Kolkata Medical College and Hospital have resigned.
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
