New Delhi:
The brutal murder and rape case of a trainee doctor in Kolkata, which has sent shockwaves across the country, has reached the Supreme Court. A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud is currently hearing the matter.

Supreme Court’s Top Quotes On Kolkata Horror

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:

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has begun conducting the psychological test of the accused in the Kolkata rape-murder case. A team of five experts from CBI’s Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) will be overseeing the test.

On August 9, the main accused, Sanjoy Roy, a civic volunteer with Kolkata Police, was stationed at the police outpost at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital and had access to all departments.

A 31-year-old postgraduate doctor had fallen asleep in a seminar room on Thursday night. Early on Friday morning, her partially clothed body, with multiple injuries, was found.

While the CBI does not need permission from the court for this test, after its conclusion other tests like brain mapping, lie detector, narcoanalysis of the accused can be conducted with the court’s permission.

The CBI’s team of five doctors, which reached Kolkata yesterday to conduct the test, will ask Sanjoy Roy questions from a pre-prepared list.

A forensic team is also at the RG Kar Hospital for the third day to collect evidence from the seminar hall, where the victim’s body was found.

What is a psychological test?

Psychoanalysis means psychological assessment, which is done on undertrials to understand their habits, routine, and behaviour.

In this test, the investigating agency’s team can put Roy’s voice in a layered voice analysis, i.e. a lie-detector device, and through that it can be ascertained if he is telling the truth.

The test is also called a “psychological autopsy.”

Kolkata:

The West Bengal government has advised the medical colleges and hospitals in the state to avoid allotting night duties to women doctors.

“All attempts will be made to avoid allotting night duties to women doctors as far as possible,” said Chief Minister’s Principal Advisor Alapan Bandyopadhyay while announcing a new initiative christened “Ratiirer Sathi” (night companion) for ensuring the safety of the women doctors.

Mr Bandyopadhyay said that women-friendly security personnel will be deployed at all medical colleges and hospitals.

“There will be separate toilets and restrooms for the women doctors. Safe zones will be created for them which will be under blanket CCTV coverage. A special app will be created through which the doctors will be connected to the local police stations. It will be compulsory for all women hospital doctors to download the app,” Mr Bandyopadhyay said.

He added that arrangements will be made for regular night patrolling by the local police at the medical colleges and hospitals.

“Shifts will be arranged in such a manner that in case of night duties the women doctors can function in pairs,” said Mr Bandyopadhyay.

He said that the state government has also requested the private medical entities to follow these guidelines.

“This system will be followed in Kolkata as well as in the districts. In case of the deployment of security personnel, the administration will be careful that a balanced male-to-female ratio is maintained,” he added.

On August 9, a female doctor in the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital was found dead under mysterious circumstances on the premises.

She was a second-year postgraduate medical student at the hospital and was also working as a house staff with the chest medicine division.

The body was discovered by the hospital staff on the fourth floor of the emergency building of the hospital at around noon.

The brutal rape and murder of the female doctor have sent shockwaves across the country and pitched different political parties against each. The doctors across the country are observing a strike and demanding capital punishment for the accused.

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

New Delhi:

The mother of Nirbhaya, the victim of the 2012 Delhi gang rape case, has demanded the resignation of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, saying she had “failed” to handle the situation after widespread protests broke out against the brutal rape and murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata.

The 31-year-old postgraduate trainee doctor was raped and murdered during her duty hours at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on August 9. Her colleagues and doctors across the country have been holding protests to seek justice for her.

Speaking to the news agency PTI, Asha Devi also slammed Ms Banerjee for “trying to divert people’s attention” by holding protests. Ms Banerjee had led a rally this week demanding the death penalty for the guilty in the case.

“Instead of using her authority to take action against the culprits, Mamata Banerjee is trying to mislead the public,” Asha Devi was quoted as saying by PTI.

“She herself is a woman. She should have taken strict action against the culprits while discharging her responsibility as the head of the state. She should resign because she has failed to handle the situation,” she added.

Ms Devi also said that until central and state governments get serious about seeking swift punishment from the court for rapists, such brutality will continue to take place in different parts of the country every day.

“When girls are not safe in Kolkata’s medical college and such barbarity is committed against them, then one can understand the state of women’s safety in the country,” she told PTI.

Centre’s Order To States On Kolkata Horror Protests

Amid nationwide protests over the trainee doctor’s rape and murder in Kolkata, the Centre has issued a diktat to all states asking them to submit reports on law and order situations every two hours.

As per the notification, the Ministry of Home Affairs has directed all state police forces of the country to send reports every two hours via mail, fax or even WhatsApp.

“Regarding two hourly law and order situation reports. The competent authority has desired to monitor the law and order situation report of your state/UT against the murder of a trainee woman doctor in RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, West Bengal. Henceforth, a continuous two-hourly law and order situation report in this regard may kindly be sent to the MHA control room by fax/e-mail/WhatsApp from 4 pm today (16/08/24), the MHA reportedly said.

NDTV has learnt that states have started sending reports, starting August 16.

New Delhi:

“I don’t want to be the next victim”, read placards carried by several women medics who were part of a march in Delhi on Saturday to protest against the alleged rape and murder of a trainee doctor at a state-run hospital in Kolkata last week. 

Hundreds of medics, including doctors and resident doctors, wearing stethoscopes over their white aprons, started their march from the Lady Hardinge Medical College on the sixth day of their agitation over the incident and to press for their demands such as a central law to check violence against healthcare personnel.

On reaching Connaught Place, they held an around 25-minute sit-in, before police removed barricades and allowed them to proceed to the Jantar Mantar for the next phase of their demonstration — a candle light march.

Non-emergency services, such as OPD and diagnostics, and elective surgeries at city-based health facilities, including at Centre-run AIIMS, Safdarjung hospital and RML hospital, are hit since Monday. 

Inconvenience of patients further increased as personnel of private institutions such as Sir Ganga Ram, Fortis, and Apollo also joined protests on Sunday following a call by apex doctors’ body Indian Medical Association (IMA) for a 24-hour nationwide withdrawal of non-emergency services. 

A patient from Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur, who had an appointment at the GTB Hospital here, said, “I came to the Hospital on Tuesday but was told that doctors were on strike. It has been more than five days since doctors ceased work. I am going back as there is no point waiting.” 

Sarjeena, who contracted an infection a few months after her delivery, came to the hospital for a check-up but was told that “only emergency patients are being treated”. 

At the Jantar Mantar, medics took out a candle light march and raised slogans such as “We want justice,” “Hang the rapist” and “We want protection.” Earlier in the day, doctors at the Safdarjung and RML held a silent protest march, sporting black ribbons.

“As you are aware, in light of the heinous incident that occurred at the R G Kar Medical College, Kolkata, involving a resident doctor, the residents of our institute are on strike, demanding the urgent implementation of a ‘Central Protection Act’ to ensure a safe environment for practising doctors,” the Faculty Association of AIIMS (FAIMS) said in a communication to the AIIMS-Delhi director.

The IMA on Saturday sought the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the implementation of its demands — a thorough overhaul of the working and living conditions of resident doctors, a central law to check violence against healthcare personnel at workplaces, declaration of hospitals as safe zones with the first step being mandatory security entitlements, meticulous and professional investigation of the last week incident in Kolkata, and an appropriate and dignified compensation to the bereaved family.

The Union health ministry on Saturday released an official statement and said a committee will be formed to suggest all possible measures for ensuring the safety of healthcare professionals.

Representatives of all stakeholders, including the state governments, will be invited to share their suggestions with the committee, it added.

The ministry has requested the doctors agitating across the country to resume their duties in the larger public interest and in view of the rising number of dengue and malaria cases.

Responding to the ministry’s statement, AIIMS Resident Doctors’ Association (RDA) said the statement lacks confidence and trust.

It said similar committees have been formed in the past without any significant progress or the passage of relevant legislation.

“It was decided unanimously 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 RDA said in a statement.

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

In the wake of the Kolkata rape-murder case, a retired colonel recently took to social media to share why he supports his daughter’s decision to settle outside the country. In a post on X, user Col Sanjay Pande shared that his daughter completed her three years in graduation in Delhi. “We, then, lived in a super posh colony in South Delhi. College was 15 minutes walk of which 7 mins was within colony and seven on main road,” he said. 

The user went on to say that half the route towards her daughter’s college was inside a “very premium government auditorium” and the rest was on a footpath with “an institutional area wall”. “SAFEST right? No shops, no public, main road, no people and absolutely safe road,” he asked. In the following lines, he shared his daughter’s harrowing experiences.

Take a look at the post below: 

With so many posts on ‘women don’t come to India’ and ‘women go abroad’, here is my own story.

My daughter did her three years of graduation in Delhi. We, then, lived in a super posh colony in South Delhi. College was 15 minutes walk of which 7 mins was within colony and seven…

— Col Sanjay Pande (@ColSanjayPande) August 16, 2024

“Cars would slow down and guys would ask her to ‘accompany’! They would ask ‘rate’. I was sure someone would be doing the same with the guys sister, daughter, wife too. In second year I gave her a car exclusively. No stepping on road. Ever,” he shared. 

The retired colonel posted how when his daughter wanted to settle abroad, he agreed and supported her. “This was 13 years back. She has right to her life. She is abroad since then. I could afford. What about 95% plus who cannot?” he expressed. 

The post was shared just a day back. Since then, it has accumulated more than 878,000 views. 

Reacting to the post, one user shared, “I lived in South Delhi and each time I had to take an auto or cab at night because of late work, it gave me so much anxiety. Just waiting for the auto made so many men stop and stare. I can totally relate to her.”

Also Read | Bengaluru Man Claims Movers And Packers Stole Items Worth Lakhs, Firm Reacts

“It’s so sad really. As an Indian woman, I wish someone could teach our men to respect women as human beings. It has to start in every household, every school, every step of the way and I’m not sure how we make it happen but it needs to happen,” commented another. 

“It’s an everyday tale. The fact that a lot of people normalise it and say a woman should learn self defence or fight this or shame the abuser is illogical. Why should women not just step out and go about her day ?!” said a third user. 

“It’s common behavior. Used to happen routinely in the area outside our hospital, especially if standing at bus stop. One fellow was so persistent I removed the lab coat from my bag and showed him, saying ‘arre hasptal se hain, bhai’. He said ‘sorry sister’ and left,” shared a fourth X user. 

New Delhi:

Amid a nationwide outrage over the rape and murder of a woman trainee doctor in Kolkata, a 14-year-old girl has died after allegedly being raped by her teacher in Uttar Pradesh’s Sonbhadra.

The victim, a Class 8 student, was a resident of a village in Duddhi of the Sonbhadra district. She died late Tuesday at the Banaras Hindu University Hospital in Varanasi, where she was admitted for 20 days.

The accused – Vishambar – is on the run.

ALSO READ | Nurse Raped, Killed On Way Home From Uttarakhand Hospital, Body Found In UP

According to the victim’s family, the accused worked as a sports instructor in the school and had called her to participate in a sports event on December 30 last year. He then took her to his house and raped her.

The family said the victim, fearing public shame, didn’t them anything and that her health gradually deteriorated after the incident.

She was sent to Chhattisgarh to visit her relatives, where she was treated but her health condition remained the same. The victim then broke the silence and told her aunt about the incident, and was then admitted to the hospital.

Accused Paid Family Rs 30,000

According to the family, the accused gave them Rs 30,000 to remain silent.

The family said they didn’t report the incident to the authorities because they feared public shame. But as the victim’s health condition worsened, her father filed a police complaint on July 10 and a case was registered against Vishambar, a resident of Ballia in Uttar Pradesh.

The police have registered a case under the POCSO Act and formed two teams to arrest him.

“The accused will be arrested soon,” a senior police official said on Tuesday.

थाना दुद्धी क्षेत्रान्तर्गत एक छात्रा के साथ हुए दुष्कर्म के संबंध में क्षेत्राधिकारी दुद्धी श्री प्रदीप सिंह चंदेल की बाइट-@Uppolice@adgzonevaranasi@digmirzapur@ANI@Live_Hindustan@bstvlivepic.twitter.com/mU9GVU6TCy

— Sonbhadra Police (@sonbhadrapolice) August 16, 2024

The incident comes amid a nationwide outrage over the rape and murder of a woman trainee doctor during her working hours in Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

The 31-year-old’s semi-naked body was found in the seminar hall of the government-run hospital last week.

New Delhi:

Doctors have begun their 24-hour nationwide strike today 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 the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. They also condemned the subsequent vandalism on the campus.

#WATCH | Patna, Bihar: Indian Medical Association (IMA) announces nationwide strike over RG Kar Medical College rape & murder incident.

(Visuals from Patna AIIMS) pic.twitter.com/kmCr5pq0ZN

— ANI (@ANI) August 17, 2024

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.

“The RG Kar incident has brought to the fore two dimensions of violence in the hospital: A crime of barbaric scale due to the lack of safe spaces for women and the hooliganism that is unleashed due to lack of an organised security protocol,” it said.

“The crime and the vandalism have shocked the conscience of the nation. Today, both the medical fraternity and the nation are victims,” the statement added.

5 Demands Of Doctors On Nationwide Strike

The IMA has put forth five demands:

1. It wants 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. The doctors’ body has also sought an appropriate and dignified compensation to the bereaved family commensurate with the cruelty inflicted.

The 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. 

New Delhi:
Amid nationwide uproar over the gruesome rape-murder of a trainee doctor at a Kolkata Hospital, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has called for a nationwide strike and withdrawal of non-emergency medical services for 24 hours beginning today.

1. IMA, the largest organisation of doctors in India, has demanded an overhaul of the working and living conditions of resident doctors, including 36-hour shifts and safe places to rest. It sought a central law to prevent violence against medical professionals at workplaces.

2. During the strike, which began at 6 am today and will go on till Sunday, all emergency services will be functional. However, routine OPD services and elective surgeries will not be conducted. 

3. In its statement, the IMA has put forth a list of demands to ensure that security protocols of hospitals “be no less than (that of) an airport”. Hospitals should be declared as safe zones with CCTVs and higher deployment of security personnel, it said.

4. The doctors’ body also called for a thorough, swift investigation of the “barbaric” crime and asked for “appropriate and dignified” compensation to the victim’s family.

5. Key medical student organisations like The All India Medical Students’ Association (AIMSA) and Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association (FORDA) have joined the nationwide strike.

6. The IMA’s Chandigarh unit has suspended OPD services and will conduct a protest march from 11 am today. In Bengaluru, over 1,000 doctors are likely to participate in a protest at the IMA office.

7. The nationwide strike comes a day after students across Indian cities conducted protest marches and staged dharnas against the alleged inaction over the horrific rape-murder that has sent shockwaves across the country.

8. In Delhi, multiple resident doctors’ associations, including those from AIIMS and Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, gathered at Nirman Bhawan on Friday. Doctors also conducted a candle march at India Gate.

9. Protesting doctors at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, where the horrific crime took place, have expressed dissatisfaction, stating that their demands for justice have not been met. They have accused the police of mishandling the case and the ruling Trinamool Congress government of trying to destroy evidence to shield the accused.

10. The case is now being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) under an order from the Calcutta High Court. “We have identified at least 30 suspects and have started questioning them,” a CBI officer said on Friday.

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