Kolkata Rape Case: The outpatient services remained suspended across the nation in government hospitals on Friday in protest against the heinous rape and killing of a resident doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. . However, emergency and medico-legal services continued, and critical patients were being attended amidst the protests.
Essential Services Continue Amid Strike
The IMA clarified that while routine OPD services and elective surgeries have been put on hold, essential services and casualty wards continue to function. The strike, though of a disruptive nature, shows the amount of anger and distress evoked within the medical fraternity over the Kolkata incident.
Some patients and their families are ambivalent about the strike. A relative of a patient at the Sion Hospital in Mumbai said, “Our patient is in the ICU and the services are proper. We do not have any problems but what happened in Kolkata is wrong. The people behind it should be punished. Doctors serve people selflessly and both the government and the public should support them.”
Another relative said, “The strike has inconvenienced us to an extent but it is necessary. The doctors will not leave their strike without solution. There are fewer doctors but the services are running smooth.
CBI Takes Over Investigation from Kolkata Police
With mounting public outrage as the backdrop, West Bengal’s chief minister came out and demanded the death penalty for the suspects in the rape-murder case. The Central Bureau of Investigation took over the probe; the Kolkata Police had made considerable progress in the case already. Key among those being quizzed by the CBI are the former principal of the RG Kar Hospital and four trainee doctors. Moreover, 25 suspects have already been detained in relation to the vandalism following the incident and many more are expected to be arrested. Additionally, the NCW is also investigating into the case, which has found flaws both in the police probe and the security arrangement of the hospital.
