R G Kar case: People join junior doctors' rally in Kolkata to press for their 10-point list of demands

Kolkata: Agitating junior doctors were joined by members of civil society organisations on Sunday evening in a mega rally to press for their 10-point demands to the West Bengal government over the rape-murder of their colleague at R G Kar Medical College and Hospital.

Addressing the rally at the fast-unto-death venue in Esplanade, the medics said their agitation would intensify if their demands, including the removal of the state's Health Secretary N S Nigam, were not met.

Members of civil society organisations joined the rally holding placards, lighting candles and women blowing conch shells to show solidarity with the junior doctors, who are seeking justice for the murdered post-graduate trainee.

Empathising with the junior doctors’ demands, several actors from the Bengali film and television industry, including Chaiti Ghosal, Debalina Dutta, and Soumya Banerjee held a day-long hunger strike near the protest site.

Street plays, songs and recital of poems marked another protest congregation near the Academy of Fine Arts here, about 2 km from the protest venue of junior doctors.

The protesting doctors are demanding justice for their murdered colleague and immediate removal of Nigam. Their additional demands include establishing a centralised referral system for all hospitals and medical colleges in the state, implementing a bed vacancy monitoring system, and forming task forces to ensure essential provisions like CCTV, on-call rooms, and washrooms at their workplaces.