The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday ordered the transfer of the probe into the rape and murder case of a postgraduate resident doctor at Kolkata’s R G Kar Medical College and Hospital to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The court also instructed the police to immediately hand over all relevant documents to the CBI by Wednesday, August 14.
“Under normal circumstances, the court would have granted more time, but this case is exceptional… even after five days, there have been no significant developments, which should have occurred by now,” the bench was quoted as saying by Bar and Bench.
This comes as resident doctors continued their nationwide strike for a second day, halting non-urgent elective services in major hospitals across India after a call by the Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association of India (FORDA).
The strikes have continued across prominent hospitals, including the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) in Bengaluru, and the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) at Chandigarh’s Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER).
Similarly, Uttar Pradesh’s Resident Doctors’ Association (RDA) also continued a statewide strike across all medical colleges in the state. RDAs in states such as Maharashtra and West Bengal have also supported the strikes.
This comes even as certain hospital administrations have warned resident doctors of disciplinary action if strikes go against the code of conduct of the institution.
AIIMS, New Delhi, issued a stern warning to its resident doctors engaged in protests, stating that any demonstrations on or near the hospital campus would breach high court directives and could result in contempt of court charges.
In an office memorandum, the AIIMS administration instructed all department heads and centre chiefs to monitor and report the attendance of resident doctors daily by 3 PM, emphasising the importance of adhering to the code of conduct as specified by a high court division bench, which prohibits strikes and demonstrations within the institution.
FORDA had initially announced an indefinite strike on Monday, halting all non-urgent elective services in hospitals across the country to demand a fair investigation into the rape and murder.
While bodies such as FORDA met senior officials in the health ministry on Monday, the discussion did not generate a favourable resolution, leading to a continuation of the strike on Tuesday.
The call to strike received support from RDAs and state medical associations, with RDAs suspending elective services to demand justice for the deceased doctor. They are also demanding a mandated security protocol for healthcare workers.
Protests by doctors demanding justice and better workplace security initially began in Kolkata, after the brutalised body of a 31-year-old resident doctor, who was attacked at the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata, where she went to rest at night after a 36-hour long duty, was found on Friday morning.
She had multiple injuries, including a broken neck bone, and an autopsy confirmed sexual assault and homicide. On Saturday, police arrested Sanjay Roy, a volunteer at the hospital, in connection with the attack.
Strikes continue for 2nd day, even as hospital admin warns of action
The strikes have continued across prominent hospitals including the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (Aiims), New Delhi, the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) in Bengaluru and the association of resident doctors (ARD) at Chandigarh’s Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER).
Similarly, Uttar Pradesh’s resident doctors’ association (RDA) continued a statewide strike across all medical colleges in the state. RDAs in states such as Maharashtra and West Bengal have also supported the strikes.
This comes even as certain hospital administrations have warned resident doctors of disciplinary action, in event of strikes going against the code of conduct of the institution.
Aiims, New Delhi issued a stern warning to its resident doctors engaged in protests, stating that any demonstrations on or near the hospital campus would breach high court directives and could result in contempt of court charges.
In an office memorandum, the Aiims administration instructed all department heads and centre chiefs to monitor and report the attendance of resident doctors daily by 3 PM, emphasising the importance of adhering to the code of conduct as specified by a high court division bench, which prohibits strikes and demonstrations within the institution.
FORDA had initially announced an indefinite strike on Monday, halting all non-urgent elective services hospitals across the country to demand a fair investigation into the rape and murder.
While bodies such as FORDA met senior officials in the health ministry on Monday, the discussion did not generate a favourable resolution, leading to a continuation of the strike on Tuesday.
The call to strike got support from RDAs and state medical associations, with RDAs suspending elective services to demand justice for the deceased doctor. They are also demanding a mandated security protocol for health care workers.
NMC issues advisory for safe working environment, as IMA meets Nadda
The National Medical Commission (NMC) on Tuesday issued an advisory to all medical colleges and institutions urging them to ensure a safe working environment for doctors, following the instructions of Union Health Minister J P Nadda.
The NMC advisory asks all medical colleges to develop a safe working environment policy with measures like CCTV cameras, well lit corridors and adequate security. As part of the advisory, the NMC has also asked colleges to send an action report within 48 hours of any unforeseen incident.
This comes after a four member delegation of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) met Nadda to discuss safety protocols for doctors in hospital campuses. The IMA had previously written a letter to the health ministry on Monday apprising it of the safety situation of doctors.
A similar letter was issued by Uttar Pradesh’s RDA to the health ministry pressing for security measures at medical institutions.
Protests by doctors demanding justice and better workplace security initially began in Kolkata, after the brutalised body of a 31-year old resident doctor who was attacked at the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical college in Kolkata where she went to take rest at night after a 36-hour long duty was found on Friday morning.
She had multiple injuries including a broken neck bone, and an autopsy confirmed sexual assault and homicide. On Saturday police arrested Sanjay Roy, a volunteer, at the hospital, in connection with the attack.