Doctors across the country began their strike at 6 am
Doctors across the country are on strike to protest against the brutal rape and murder of a 31-year-old trainee doctor in Kolkata.
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has declared a nationwide withdrawal of non-emergency health services for 24 hours -- that began at 6 am today -- over a week after the horrific incident at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
All essential services will be maintained and casualties will be manned, the IMA said in a statement. The routine OPDs will not function and elective surgeries will not be conducted.
The withdrawal is across all sectors, wherever modern medicine doctors are providing service, the top body of doctors said.
Here are updates on Kolkata rape-murder case:
Kolkata Rape-Murder Case Updates: Madhya Pradesh High Court Asks Doctors To Return To WorkThe Madhya Pradesh High Court has directed doctors to withdraw their strike and join duty in the state.
A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva and Justice Raj Mohan Singh has issued the direction during the hearing of a petition filed by Anshul Tiwari, a resident of Narsinghpur district, challenging the strike.
It has also directed the doctors to submit their grievances in the court.
Kolkata Rape-Murder Case Updates: Centre To Set Up Committee For Safety Of DoctorsAmid a nationwide strike by doctors in protest against the rape and murder of a doctor in Kolkata, the Union Health Ministry today assured them of all possible efforts to ensure their security.
In an official statement, the Ministry also said it will form a committee to suggest measures for ensuring the safety of healthcare professionals, an announcement that came over a week after the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata triggered widespread protests across the country.
The assurance came after the representatives of the Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA), Indian Medical Association (IMA), and Resident Doctors' Associations of Governmental Medical Colleges & Hospitals of Delhi met the officials of the Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare in Delhi.
"The associations have put forth their demands regarding their concern over the safety and security of healthcare workers at the workplace. The Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has heard the demands of the representatives and assured them of all possible efforts to ensure the security of healthcare professionals," the health ministry said in a statement.
"The representatives of all the associations were informed that the Government is well aware of the situation and is sensitive to their demands. It was observed that 26 states have already passed legislation for the protection of healthcare workers in their respective states," the ministry added.
Representatives of all stakeholders including the State Governments will be invited to share their suggestions with the Committee, it said.
The ministry also requested the agitating doctors to resume their duties in the "larger public interest" and in view of the rising cases of dengue and malaria.
Kolkata Rape Murder Case Updates: Hospitals Hit As Doctors StrikeServices -- except for emergency cases -- at hospitals and clinics across India have been hit today as medical professionals started a 24-hour strike in protest against the brutal rape and murder of a doctor in Kolkata.
Here are some pictures from the protests:
Medical staff shout slogans while holding placards during a protest at a hospital in Mumbai. (Pictures' credits: Reuters)
Kolkata Horror: Karnataka Calls Meeting To Discuss Safety Standards In HospitalsKarnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao has said a meeting has been called on August 20 to discuss the steps to be taken to ensure safety and security of doctors, nurses and all the staffs working in hospitals across the state.
Terming the rape and murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata as 'ghastly' incident, he said it is a serious issue regarding the safety and security of people working in hospitals, especially women because they constitute more than 50 per cent of the staff. So, there should be a safe environment for them.
Speaking on the nationwide strike called by the member doctors of the IMA, he said, "We understand the reason for the protest and they (doctors) can do it, but people should not face any difficulty and all of them have agreed to it and ensure that essential services are running."
Kolkata Rape-Murder Case: Doctors At AIIMS Delhi Hold Protest March Following the announcement of a nationwide strike over the RG Kar Medical College rape and murder incident by the IMA, doctors at the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi have staged a protest march inside the campus.
Kolkata Doctor Rape Murder Case Updates
Members of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital associated with the forensic medicine department have arrived at the CBI office in Kolkata for questioning.
LIVE: CBI Team At Kolkata Hospital For Digital Mapping Of Crime SceneThe CBI team has arrived at the RG Kar for the digital mapping of the crime scene. The digital mapping is a process by which a collection of data is compiled and formatted into a virtual image.
Kolkata Doctor Rape Murder Case Updates: Doctors Protest In GoaResident doctors in Panaji, Goa have held protest against the rape-murder incident in Kolkata.
IMA Goa president Dr Sandesh Chodankar said all their members have joined the protest from 6 am on Saturday and it will continue for 24 hours.
He said that emergency services in private hospitals will remain unaffected as doctors attached to emergency and casualty units have not joined the agitation.
Parents Gave Names Of Interns, Doctors To CBI In Kolkata Horror: SourcesThe parents of the trainee doctor who was raped and murdered at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital told the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) that several interns and physicians from the hospital may be involved in the crime.
The parents also gave the CBI the names of people who they suspect to be involved in their daughter's rape and murder at the state-run hospital.
Kolkata Horror Updates: "Safety Of Medical Staff Is A Matter Of Concern", Says Union MinisterUnion Minister Kiren Rijiju has said the safety of the medical staff is a "matter of concern".
Speaking to reporters on the Kolkata horror, he said, "It is not just about the medical fraternity of the doctors and nurses. This is a nationwide issue. It is a security and a societal issue. It is a matter of concern for everyone... The general public is also agitated..."
Kolkata Rape Murder Case Updates: EX Principal Of RG Kar Medical College At CBI OfficerFormer principal of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital,
Sandip Ghosh, has reached the CBI office in Kolkata for questioning. He had also come for questioning yesterday.
Kolkata Rape-Murder Case: Doctors Hold Protest In AhmedabadResidents doctors in Ahmedabad held a protest against the rape-murder incident in Kolkata.
Kolkata Horror: Resident Doctors Protest In Gujarat
Resident doctors at the Rajkot Civil Hospital held protest against the rape and murder incident at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College & Hospital.
Kolkata Rape-Murder Case: 5 Demands Of Doctors On Nationwide StrikeThe IMA has put forth five demands, including a significant policy to address violence against doctors and hospitals. The doctors' body is pushing for a Central Act that would incorporate the amendments made in 2023 to the Epidemic Diseases Act of 1897 into the proposed Hospital Protection Bill of 2019. This move, it said, would strengthen the existing legislation in 25 states. The IMA has suggested that an ordinance similar to the one enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic would be appropriate in this situation.
The IMA has also demanded that hospitals be declared safe zones with the first step being mandatory security entitlements. "The security protocols of all hospitals should be no less than (that of) an airport. Declaring the hospitals as safe zones with mandatory security entitlements is the first step. CCTVs, deployment of security personnel, and the protocols can follow," it said in the statement.
The IMA has demanded a thorough overhaul of the working and living conditions of resident doctors, including the 36-hour duty shift that the victim was in and the lack of safe spaces to take a rest.
The IMA has also called for a "meticulous and professional" investigation of the Kolkata horror in a specific time frame and rendering of justice besides identifying those involved in the vandalism of the hospital premises and awarding exemplary punishment.
The doctors' body has also sought an appropriate and dignified compensation to the bereaved family commensurate with the cruelty inflicted.
Kolkata Rape, CV Ananda Bose, RG Kar Hospital: "Vandals, Scandals Marring Civic Life In Bengal": Governor On Kolkata RapeIn caustic comments directed at the Bengal government after the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at a Kolkata hospital and the vandalism in the campus, Governor CV Ananda Bose has said "vandals and scandals" are marring civic life in the state.
Mincing no words in a wide-ranging interview with NDTV yesterday, the West Bengal governor held Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee responsible for the situation in the state, claimed women medical students have told him that their families want them to leave the profession, and said it was disheartening that such incidents were taking place in a land where one of its most illustrious sons had spoken of the mind being without fear.
Kolkata Rape-Murder Case Sparks Widespread ProtestsA 31-year old trainee doctor was raped and murdered last week inside a medical college in Kolkata where she worked, triggering nationwide protests among doctors.
Anger at the failure of tough laws to deter a rising tide of violence against women has fuelled widespread protests by doctors and women's groups across the country.
Kolkata Rape-Murder Case: Doctors' Strike Will Not Hit Essential Services According to the IMA, all essential services will be maintained and casualties will be manned. The routine OPDs will not function and elective surgeries will not be conducted.
The withdrawal is across all sectors, wherever modern medicine doctors are providing service, the top body of doctors said in a statement.
Kolkata Rape-Murder Case Updates: Doctors Begin 24-Hour Nationwide StrikeDoctors across the country have begun their 24-hour strike in protest against the rape and murder of a 31-year-old trainee doctor in Kolkata.
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has declared a nationwide withdrawal of non-emergency health services for 24 hours beginning at 6 am, over a week after the horrific incident at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.