Kolkata’s protesting doctors’ plan to distribute leaflets at pandals during the ongoing Durga Puja was vetoed by the police over concerns about crowd management. The police contend that the sensitive issue could upset people and lead to a law and order issue in the festive season. 

The doctors, a section of whom are on a hunger strike, wanted to reach out to the people and spread awareness about their demands from the state government. The protesters have been called to the state secretariat tonight for another round of discussion.

The escalation in doctors’ protest comes days after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met them and accepted most of their demands. 

The junior doctors have been on hunger strike since Saturday demanding justice for the 31-year-old doctor raped and murdered at the hospital premises on August 9.

They also want a clean-upo of the system — an alleged corruption-threat syndicate — and the formation of a  patient-friendly system and campus democracy.

Their other demands include the establishment of a centralised referral system for all hospitals and medical colleges in the state, implementation of a bed vacancy monitoring system, and the formation of task forces to ensure essential provisions for CCTV, on-call rooms, and washrooms at their workplaces. 

They are also demanding increased police protection in hospitals, recruitment of permanent women police personnel, and swift filling of vacant positions for doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers.

After four days of the junior doctors’ hunger strike, 50 senior doctors resigned yesterday in a show of support. 

The CBI filed a chargesheet at a city court on Tuesday, alleging that Sanjoy Roy, who used to work as civic volunteer with the Kolkata Police, had raped and murdered the 31-year-old doctor in the hospital premises. The statements of about 200 people were recorded in the chargesheet, CBI sources had said.