New Delhi:

The Supreme Court will today hear the case related to the brutal rape and murder of a 31-year-old trainee doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on August 9. A bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra will oversee the proceedings.

On Sunday night, thousands gathered in Kolkata and across the globe, demanding justice for the victim. These demonstrations were part of a larger wave of protests, organised under the banner of “Reclaim the Night,” a movement calling for safety and justice for women in public spaces.

Supreme Court’s Earlier Hearing

The Supreme Court on August 20 termed the incident “horrific” and took additional measures to address safety concerns within the healthcare sector. The court issued several directives, including the formation of a 10-member National Task Force to develop protocols for ensuring the safety of doctors and healthcare workers across the country.

The court called upon protesting doctors who had been striking in solidarity with the victim to return to work, stating that “justice and medicine cannot be stopped.” 

The case initially faced delays, with the Supreme Court, during its hearing on August 22, criticising the Kolkata Police for their sluggish handling of the investigation. It was not until August 13 that the Calcutta High Court intervened, transferring the investigation from the Kolkata Police to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The CBI began its probe the following day, August 14.

The victim’s body was discovered in a seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College on August 9, bearing severe injuries. A civic volunteer was arrested the next day in connection with the crime, but the investigation has since widened, resulting in the arrest of the college’s former principal as well.

Protests Worldwide 

From the streets of Kolkata to the cities of Europe, Asia, and the United States, the global Indian community rallied for justice Sunday night. Over 130 protests took place in 25 countries, including major cities like Stockholm, Sydney, and New York. Protesters – many clad in black -held vigils, sang in Bengali, and chanted slogans in solidarity with the victim.

The streets of Kolkata were transformed into protest sites as men and women, young and old, took to the streets to demand justice. From forming human chains to holding burning torches, protesters expressed their anger and sorrow for the victim, who they symbolically named “Tilottama” or “Abhaya.” 

“Whenever I think about the torment, the pain experienced by my daughter on that night, I shudder. She had dreams to serve society. Now, all these protesters are my children,” the victim’s mother said at a rally in Kolkata, as quoted by news agency PTI.

A 14-kilometre-long human chain stretching from Shyambazar in North Kolkata to the suburb of Sodepur was also organised. Thousands of citizens, including rival football fans from East Bengal, Mohun Bagan, and Mohammedan Sporting, stood shoulder to shoulder, united in their call for justice.

Centre vs State 

Amid the protests, a political clash has emerged between the Centre and the West Bengal government, with the former accusing the state of “unpardonable” non-cooperation in extending logistical support to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which was tasked with providing security at RG Kar Medical College. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs, in its application to the Supreme Court, has called the lack of cooperation from the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) government “symptomatic of a systemic malaise.”

The Centre has urged the top court to direct the West Bengal government to fully cooperate with the CISF, failing which it has requested contempt proceedings against the officials responsible for non-compliance
 

Kolkata:

A civic volunteer attached to Kolkata Police was arrested on Saturday for allegedly hitting a protesting student with his motorcycle in an inebriated state on Friday evening. The incident took place when a group of students were protesting against the rape and murder of a junior doctor at RG Kar Medical College & Hospital and the motorcycle hit one of them.

The civic volunteer has been identified as Gangasagar Golde.

Incidentally, the sole arrested accused in the RG Kar rape and murder case Sanjay Roy was also a civic volunteer attached to the city police.

A complaint has also been registered against one traffic sergeant Tarakeswar Puri, who was spotted getting engaged in a verbal spat with the protesting students after the latter surrounded the motorcycle-borne civic volunteer after he allegedly hit one of the protesters.

A video of the entire event had gone viral. IANS, however, could not cross-check the authenticity of the video.

Late Friday evening, a group of former students of Rabindra Bharati University was protesting against the rape and murder incident at BT Road on the northern outskirts of Kolkata, when the motorcycle-borne civic volunteer allegedly hit one of them.

The other protesters immediately surrounded him and started protesting.

Although initially, the civic volunteer tried to argue with the protesters, at a later stage he was seen apologising to them, in the viral video. However, the protesters refused to let him go.

“We have been pardoning for a long time and that exactly has resulted in the current situation,” one of the protesters was heard saying in the video.

Later, when the traffic sergeant came to intervene and tried to bring out the civic volunteer, the protestors engaged in a verbal spat with him.

Thereafter, since early Saturday morning, the students blocked the busy BT Road and started protesting.

The protests continued till about 9.30 A.M. on Saturday and were withdrawn only after information surfaced that the accused civic volunteer had been arrested.

Meanwhile, West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose has issued a statement claiming that he is in fast-track mode in handling requests by parents of the victim of the RG Kar tragedy.

“On the receipt of a heart-wrenching letter from the parents of the victim of the RG Kar horror, Governor rushed to Delhi and presented their grievances before the Home Minister. The Governor apprised the Home Minister of the gravity of the situation and the public protest against the ghastly incident,” the statement read.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Doctors at the nation’s premier medical institute AIIMS-Delhi will hold a protest in the national Capital on Saturday afternoon to seek justice for the rape and murder victim at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in West Bengal.

Vice president of the Federation of All India Medical Associations (FAIMA) and a senior resident doctor at AIIMS-New Delhi, Dr Suvrankar Datta told the media that they were planning a peaceful protest.

“We are organising a large peaceful protest at Jantar Mantar on August 31 to seek justice for our colleague at RG Kar Medical College in West Bengal,” Dr Suvrankar Datta was quoted as saying by media reports.

In the wake of repeated physical and sexual assaults on medical professionals, particularly women while on duty, the medical fraternity in the country is demanding that the Union government implement a nationwide protection Act for healthcare professionals to prevent violence against them.

Dr Suvrankar Datta said, “We call on the Central Government to implement a nationwide protection Act for healthcare professionals to prevent violence.”

The doctors are planning to gather at Jantar Mantar for the protest and have appealed to others from the medical community to join them in drawing the government’s attention to their plight and to seek justice for the RG Kar victim.

Dr Suvrankar Datta said, “Ahead of the Supreme Court hearing on September 5, I urge doctors to join us at Jantar Mantar from 3 P.M. to 5 P.M. on Saturday. We want to demonstrate our unity and demand increased security in hospitals across the country.”

In the weeks after the heinous rape and murder in Kolkata, there were nationwide strikes and protests by doctors across the country and medical facilities were hit.

The striking doctors went back to work following an intervention by the Supreme Court of India on August 22 wherein the top court asked them to join their duties while also assuring them that it would prevail upon authorities not to take adverse action against the striking doctors, who had been protesting over the Kolkata doctor’s rape and murder case.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

President Droupadi Murmu – in her first public statement on the brutal rape and murder of a doctor in Kolkata nearly 20 days ago – said she is “dismayed and horrified”. She said no civilised society can allow women to be subjected to such atrocities.

President Murmu’s Quotes On Crime Against Women

New Delhi:

A key accused in the rape case of a minor girl died after trying to escape police custody this morning, police said. The accused, identified as Tafujal Islam, was being taken to the location – where the crime allegedly took place – for a re-creation of the crime scene around 4 am. He then escaped from police custody and jumped into the pond at Dhing in Assam’s Nagaon district.

A search operation was launched and his body was recovered with the help of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) after about two hours, the police said.

“After his interrogation, he was taken for crime scene re-creation. When he was taken there, he suddenly tried to pull the handcuff from a constable’s grip and flee. He then fell in a nearby pond,” a senior police official said.

Our constable was also injured, he said.

“We are investigating as to how he was able to flee,” he added.

Tafujal Islam was also going to take the police to another accused’s residence, police sources said.

He was arrested on Friday after a 14-year-old girl was allegedly raped by three persons in Assam’s Nagaon district on Thursday evening. Two other suspects in the case are on the run.

The alleged assault reportedly took place when the girl was returning from a coaching class.

She was found in a semi-conscious state near a pond with her bicycle beside her, local residents said. She was on the roadside for about an hour before residents rescued her.

Himanta Biswa Sarma On Assam Rape Case

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had called it a “crime against humanity” and said that it has “struck our collective conscience”.

“We will NOT SPARE anyone and BRING the perpetrators to JUSTICE. I’ve directed the Assam Police chief to visit the site and ensure swift action against such monsters,” he had said in a post on X on Friday.

The horrific incident at Dhing, involving a minor, is a crime against humanity and has struck our collective conscience.

We will NOT SPARE anyone & BRING the perpetrators to JUSTICE. I’ve directed @DGPAssamPolice to visit the site and ensure swift action against such monsters.

— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) August 23, 2024

The girl is recovering in hospital and a report of the medical test to confirm sexual assault is awaited.

Shops, markets, and education institutions in the area remained shut on Friday as a mark of protest. Police and paramilitary personnel were deployed to enhance security during this period.

The incident comes amid widespread protests against sexual violence in the aftermath of the rape and murder of a 31-year-old doctor at a Kolkata hospital on August 9.

New Delhi:

Actor Payel Mukherjee today alleged that she was attacked by a biker after a “minor accident” on a Kolkata road. Taking to her official social media accounts, she shared a video while sitting in the damaged car and said that a man stopped his two-wheeler before her on Southern Avenue after a “minor accident”, and asked her to come out of the vehicle. The police said it was a “road traffic accident” and the accused person had been arrested. 

“As I refused to come out fearing for my safety, the man banged against the glass on my right side window and broke it into pieces injuring my hand,” Ms Mukherjee said while sobbing in the video.

According to the news agency PTI, the man said that Payel’s car grazed past his bike and that he apologised to the police for the incident. 

“I don’t know where we stand now. If a woman can be accosted and heckled in such a way in a crowded street in the evening, then that exemplifies the real situation. And this happens amid rallies taken out all over the city on the issue of women’s safety,” the actor, who is also a known face in the south film industry, said in the video in Bangla.

She also said that there was no minimum safety for women in Kolkata despite the situation right now.

“I shudder to think what would have happened to me had this incident taken place in a deserted spot,” Ms Banerjee added.

In another video, she showed the bike involved in the accident and asked “if anyone can see any damage”.

The police responded to her social media post and said that they “swiftly intervened” and arrested the accused.

“Today evening a renowned Bengali actress was seen live-streaming an incident of RTA (road traffic accident) and hooliganism at Southern Avenue on social media. The on-duty police of Tollygunge police station swiftly intervened and the accused person had been arrested from the spot,” a senior police official said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

Today evening a renowned Bengali actress was seen live-streaming an incident of RTA and hooliganism at Southern Avenue on social media. The on-duty police of Tollygunge PS swiftly intervened and the accused person had been arrested from the spot . #WeCareWeDare#SafestCitypic.twitter.com/zA5BtzISqN

— DCP South Kolkata (@KPSouthDiv) August 23, 2024

The incident comes at a time when the country is witnessing massive protests over the rape and murder of a postgraduate medical trainee at the state-run RG Kar Hospital in Kolkata.

Healthcare professionals across the country ceased work after the body of the medic, a junior doctor, was found in a seminar room of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on August 9.

New Delhi:

The Union Health Ministry on Wednesday issued an Office Memorandum on the National Task Force, formed by the Supreme Court for the medical professionals’ safety.

The panel will be headed by Cabinet Secretary, Government of India as its Chairperson has been constituted following the Supreme Court’s direction on August 20.

“The 14-member task force comprises ex-officio members and experts. It includes, Cabinet Secretary, Government of India – Chairperson, Home Secretary, Government of India, Secretary, M/o Health and Family Welfare Member Secretary Government of India, Chairperson, National Medical Commission, President, National Board of Examinations, Surgeon Vice Admiral Arti Sarin, AVSM, VSM, Director General Medical Services (Navy), Dr D Nageshwar Reddy, Chairman and Managing Director, Asian Institute of Gastroenterology and AIG Hospitals, Hyderabad, Dr M Srinivas, Director, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, (AIIMS), Delhi, Dr Pratima Murthy, Director, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru, Dr Goverdhan Dutt Puri, Executive Director, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Jodhpur; Dr Saumitra Rawat, Chairperson, Institute of Surgical Gastroenterology, GI and HPB Onco-Surgery and Liver Transplantation and Member, Board of Management, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi, Professor Anita Saxena, Vice-Chancellor, Pandit BD Sharma Medical University, Rohtak, Formerly Dean of Academics, Chief-Cardiothoracic Centre and Head Cardiology Department at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, Dr Pallavi Saple, Dean, Grant Medical College and Sir JJ Group of Hospitals, Mumbai, Dr Padma Srivastava, formerly Professor at the Department of Neurology, AIIMS, Delhi. Currently Chairperson of Neurology at Paras Health Gurugram,” it stated.

The office memorandum stated that the NTF shall submit an interim report within three weeks and the final report within two months from the date of the order of the Supreme Court of India, dated August 20.

“The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare will provide logistical support including making travel arrangements, stay and secretarial assistance and bear the travel expenses and other related expenses of the members of the NTF,” it said.

The NTF shall formulate effective recommendations to remedy the issues of concern about safety, working conditions and well-being of medical professionals and other related matters, the statement said.

The NTF shall prepare an action plan categorized under two heads- prevention of violence against medical professionals and providing safe working conditions, and providing an enforceable national protocol for dignified and safe working conditions for interns, residents, senior residents, doctors, nurses and all medical professionals.

“The phrase medical professionals encompasses every medical professional including doctors, medical students who are undergoing their compulsory rotating medical internship (CRMI) as a part of the MBBS course, resident doctors and senior resident doctors and nurses (including those who are nursing interns),” it said.

“The NTF shall be at liberty to make recommendations on all aspects of the action plan and any other aspects, which the members seek to cover. NTF would be at liberty to make additional suggestions, where appropriate. The NTF shall also suggest appropriate timelines for the implementation of the recommendations. The NTF may consult relevant stakeholders in this regard,” it added.

Due to the ongoing strike by the Resident Doctors, the OPDs are affected by 65 per cent, admission by 40 per cent, Operation theatres reduced by 90 pc, laboratory services reduced by 30 pc, Radiological investigations by 55 per cent, Nuclear Medicine by 20 per cent till Wednesday 4:30 pm at AIIMS, Delhi.

Earlier today, the IMA wrote to Union Health Minister JP Nadda, highlighting the urgent need for bringing a central law to deal with attacks on medics and healthcare establishments and pointing out that a special exigency exists to violence on doctors and hospitals.

The IMA also expressed gratitude to JP Nadda for receiving its delegation on August 13 regarding the issue of a central law on violence on doctors and hospitals, safety and security at the workplaces of healthcare personnel and the working and living conditions of resident doctors.

It mentioned that the IMA had called for withdrawing the services of the medical fraternity, except for casualties and emergencies, across India on August 17.

“The withdrawal of service was near total in almost all the districts of the country,” it added.

It mentioned that the Supreme Court has intervened in the rape-and-murder case of a trainee doctor in Kolkata’s R G Kar Medical College and Hospital and formed a National Task Force (NTF) in this regard.

“The issue of promulgating an ordinance for the Central Act for the protection of healthcare professionals remains to be addressed. The IMA is keen on a Central Act in this regard,” the letter said.

It also submitted a list of facts for JP Nadda’s consideration.

“Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010 was enacted by Parliament at the request of four states, even though hospitals and dispensaries come under the Constitution’s State List,” it added.

The IMA also highlighted that a draft legislation — the Healthcare Service Personnel and Clinical Establishments (Prohibition of Violence and Damage to Property) Bill, 2019 — was placed in the public domain after due consultations with all the stakeholders. The Union home and law ministries were involved, along with the health ministry, in drafting the Bill.

It also mentioned the Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 was proclaimed on April 22, 2020, amending the Epidemic Diseases Act of 1897 during the COVID-19 setting.

The IMA said “Doctors stand as a separate class due to the nature of their professional services. The Supreme Court acknowledged that in the Jacob Mathew vs State of Punjab and Another judgment of 2004.”

“There are special laws enacted for specific exigencies like the POCSO Act as well. We, the Indian Medical Association appeal to you that a special exigency exists about the violence on doctors and hospitals. The doctors are vulnerable in their workplace. The State has a bounden duty to provide safety and security to the doctors and other healthcare personnel. ‘Right to Life’ is a fundamental right,” reads the letter by IMA.

“25 state legislations in this regard have not prevented violence across the country. Very few FIRs have been lodged and very few convictions have happened. There is an urgent need to bring in a Central Act on Violence on Doctors and Hospitals. This is felt acutely by the medical fraternity of India,” it added.

“We demand that the draft bill 2019 incorporating the amendment clauses of the Epidemic Diseases Amendment Act, 2020 and the Code Grey Protocol of Kerala Government “Prevention Management of Violence against Healthcare workers” be proclaimed as an ordinance to instill confidence into the minds of the Doctors of India,” the letter read.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Supreme Court constituted a 10-member National Task Force to make recommendations on the prevention of violence and safe working conditions for medical professionals. The task force includes Surgeon Vice Admiral Arti Sarin, among others.

Days after the rape and murder of a junior doctor in Kolkata sparked nationwide protests, the top court suo motu took up the case and directed the task force to submit an interim report within three weeks and a final report within two months.

The top court also asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to file a status report on the status of the investigation in the rape case. The court asked the West Bengal government to file a status report on the mob attack incident in the RG Kar hospital on August 15.

On August 9, a postgraduate trainee doctor was allegedly raped and murdered while on duty at RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata, sparking nationwide strikes and protests by the medical community.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Bengaluru:

Saving lives was the childhood dream for 28-year-old doctor Radhika, but after the brutal rape and murder of a colleague her own safety has increasingly become a top concern. Earlier this month, at the government-run hospital where Radhika works in Kolkata, the battered and bloodied body of a 31-year-old woman doctor was found, sparking outrage.

One man has been detained, but the attack has focused anger on the lack of measures for female doctors to work without fear, and triggered protests and medical strikes.

“I was on night duty just two days before this incident,” Radhika said at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

“What she did is what any of us do — resting whenever, wherever we can”.

The murdered doctor was found in the teaching hospital’s seminar hall, suggesting she had gone there for a break during a long shift.

Radhika, whose name has been changed for fear of repercussions at her work, said conditions such as long working hours — with barely any time to eat or rest — were not unusual.

“This could have been any of us, and this still can be any of us,” she added.

Attacks all too common

Tens of thousands of citizens have joined protests, channelling anger not only at the chronic issue of violence against women, but also at the failure to provide secure working conditions for them.

According to the philanthropic organisation Dasra, women make up nearly 30 percent of doctors in India and 80 percent of nursing staff.

Attacks on female medics are all too common.

Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered a national task force to examine how to bolster security for healthcare workers, saying the brutality of the killing had “shocked the conscience of the nation”.

“The lack of institutional safety norms at medical establishments, against both violence and sexual violence against medical professionals, is a matter of serious concern,” the court order read.

It highlighted a lack of CCTV cameras and a failure to screen visitors to hospitals for weapons.

Medical superintendent Indira Kabade, who works at KC General Hospital in the southern city of Bengaluru, said she worries her staff can get home safely.

“We never know if anyone is following them from the hospital,” said Kabade, adding she and many female colleagues want “airport-like security”, including police posted inside the campus.

“Despite us working non-stop to save lives, there is a need to rethink safety at workplace,” Kabade said.

The gruesome nature of the doctor’s killing has invoked comparisons with the horrific 2012 gang rape and murder of a young woman on a Delhi bus.

Nearly 90 rapes a day were reported in 2022 in the country of 1.4 billion people.

Foul toilets

Exhausted doctors sleep where they can, snatching rest on a chair or the floor.

“They are just completely tired and their bodies cannot push anymore,” Radhika said.

There are restrooms for doctors — but men and women have to share, and some have no lock.

She described one moment of terror when two men barged into the room as she rested.

“I was really scared,” she said.

Foul sanitation — including often one toilet for male and female medics — illustrate a failure by the authorities to provide basic infrastructure.

The situation was particularly worrying when the women were menstruating, Radhika said.

In Kashmir, doctor Rubeena Bhat said some medics would rather use washrooms in houses neighbouring the hospital.

“It’s that bad,” she said.

‘Abuse every day’

One woman doctor in Thiruvananthapuram said she and her colleagues faced abuse every day, from verbal insults to physical molestation.

“There is no end to it,” she said.

Woman doctors have been encouraged to participate in self-defence classes organised by the medical association.

“Doctors are called gods or angels by some people,” the Kerala-based doctor said.

“So we think we are immune to crimes. And when such a crime happens at a place which we consider the safest place, we are all afraid”.

But while questions remain over her safety, Radhika is certain of her future.

“I will fight and continue to be in the healthcare service”, she said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:
The Resident Doctors Association (RDA) at the AIIMS Delhi will today provide elective OPD services outside the Nirman Bhawan, which houses the Union health ministry amid protests over the rape and murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata on August 9.

Here Are Top Points On Doctors’ Strike:

New Delhi:

The Resident Doctors Association (RDA) at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) will be providing elective OPD services in front of Nirman Bhawan from 11 am on August 19 in continuation of their strike against the rape-murder incident of a postgraduate trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata.

In a press statement released on Sunday, RDA AIIMS stated, “Resident doctors will be available for providing elective OPD services of around 36 specialities (including medicine, surgery, Obs&Gynae, paediatrics, ophthalmology, Orthopedics and others) to patients outside Nirman Bhawan. Emergency services will continue as before at our hospitals.”

This decision came after a discussion with the Action Committee for Central Protection Act and the general body of RDA AIIMS, where “it was unanimously decided to continue the strike, as our demands remain unaddressed. This includes halting academic activities, elective OPDs, ward, and OT services, while maintaining emergency services, ICUs, emergency procedures and emergency OT.”

The release further stated that this was done to “provide the patient care services in the nation’s interest and as per our Hippocratic oath” and “to highlight the lack of security of healthcare professionals nationwide.”

They further urged “the government to accept our plea for an urgent central ordinance for the safety and security of healthcare workers and institutes” and requested the authorities “to allow for the same and provide the necessary arrangements for the elective outpatient services outside Nirman Bhawan.”

Earlier, on August 9, a postgraduate trainee doctor was allegedly raped and murdered while on duty at RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata, sparking nationwide strikes and protests by the medical community.

On August 14, the protest site and the hospital campus at RG Kar were vandalised by a mob, prompting security personnel to disperse the crowd.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)