NRS junior students continue protest, want their safety to be ensured
Kolkata, Jun 13 (IBNS): Continuing their protest against the attack on a junior doctor at Nil Ratan Sircar (NRS) Medical College and Hospital, the agitating doctors said they would continue with the stir unless their safety was ensured by the state administration. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee meanwhile directed all agitating doctors at the state-run SSKM Hospital to resume services within four hours.
The junior doctors went for an indefinite strike across West Bengal after relatives of Kolkata's Tangra resident 75-year-old Md. Sayeed, whose death at the NRS Hospital prompted cries of medical negligence from them, brought some 200 people to the hospital and beat up junior doctors, seriously wounding Paribaha Mukhopadhayay on Monday night.
Mukhopadhayay with severe head injuries is in critical condition as the junior doctors' protest entered the third day on Thursday.
"We will continue to protest until our security is not ensured and all the culprits are not punished," said Dr. Chiroshree Chakraborty speaking to IBNS.
However, the agitators do not believe the attack was carried out just by the relatives of the deceased patient. "It is not possible for a person to have 200 family members. How is it possible to bring 200 people in a truck within an hour. It is a complete organised attack," said Dr. Subhankar Adhikari of Department of Dermatology.
Adhikari also said it is not true that the patient was given a wrong injection which led to the death. "The family members of the deceased patient claimed a wrong injection was given. It is not true," he said.
This is what happened when 200 people came by trucks and attacked Doctors and interns at NRS Hospital. They thrashed an intern's skull bcz a 85 yrs old man died. It doesnt feel safe living in WB nowadays. It's a goon's era we are living in. The protest must go on. #standwithnrs pic.twitter.com/9WkqH2XHOI
— Nabanita Das (@nabanita_speaks) June 11, 2019
The agitating doctors have demanded a statement from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on preventing such incidents though the state's Junior Health Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya met the doctors and assured of strong action.
Amid sloganeering by the agitators, Mamata Banerjee on Thursday went to SSKM Hospital and ordered all protesting doctors to join their work by 4:30 pm.
The medics put up posters and placards on the front gate and wall of the hospital saying they were not against the services but needed security from being attacked. The medics and patient party dispute after death is not new in the city.
Senior BJP leaders Mukul Roy and Locket Chatterjee visited NRS and later blamed that a section of Trinamool Congress (TMC) people from a particular community were behind the attack.
However, the protesting doctors said they are against politicising the agitation.
Dr Indranil Khan, ABVP vice-president, West Bengal, said, "The ABVP demands immediate arrest of the assailants by identifying the attackers from CCTV and social media videos and be booked under IPC Section 320 (Grievous Injury) among other sections."
"We pray for the recovery of the injured junior doctors of NRS Medical College and at the same time express our concern on the deteriorating law and order situation in the heart of Kolkata along with other parts of the state," Dr Khan said and urged Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to look into such attacks on government officers on duty and punish the attackers irrespective of their political or religious identity.
"Doctors don’t see colour during discharge of their duties nor should colour be a criteria for not arresting the attacker of a government officer on duty," he said.
"Mobocracy cannot be the order of the day and can never be tolerated. Any allegation of medical negligence can be addressed through appropriate forums and doesn’t require mob terror."
"We will be submitting a detailed report on this violence to the Governor and Union health minister," said Dr Khan.
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