By Subrata Nag Choudhury
KOLKATA (Multibagger) - Striking junior doctors in India's West Bengal state agreed to resume essential services, in a partial resumption of medical facilities, but they will continue their strike over the rape and murder of a colleague over a month ago.
The rape and murder of the 31-year-old female doctor in West Bengal in August set off a wave of protests by doctors demanding greater workplace safety for women and justice for their slain colleague, prompting India's Supreme Court to create a hospital safety task force.
The junior doctors will resume essential duties from Saturday, the West Bengal Junior Doctors' Front, which represents about 7,000 physicians in the state, said in a statement on Thursday.
"The movement for "justice" will continue in each state-run hospital but we have decided to resume essential services in hospitals due to the flood situation in parts of the state," Aniket Mahato of the West Bengal Junior Doctors' Front said.
Doctors are demanding better security, included additional CCTV coverage, deployment of female security personnel, adequate lighting, toilets, and resting spaces.
A police volunteer has been arrested in connection the doctor's rape and death in the R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata city, the former principal of the college has been arrested over accusations of evidence tampering and graft, and the police chief of capital Kolkata has been replaced.
Although tougher laws were introduced after the 2012 gruesome gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student in national capital New Delhi, activists say the Kolkata case shows how women in the country continue to suffer from sexual violence.
Striking junior doctors in India's West Bengal state have agreed to resume essential services amidst a continued protest over the rape and murder of a colleague. The incident, which occurred over a month ago, sparked widespread outrage and demands for improved workplace safety for women in the medical field.
The West Bengal Junior Doctors' Front, representing approximately 7,000 physicians, announced that while their movement for justice will persist, essential duties will resume to address the flood situation in parts of the state.
Key demands from the doctors include enhanced security measures such as additional CCTV coverage, deployment of female security personnel, adequate lighting, toilets, and resting spaces.
Recent developments have seen arrests in connection to the doctor's tragic fate, with a police volunteer and the former principal of the R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata facing allegations of misconduct. Additionally, the police chief of Kolkata has been replaced amid the ongoing investigation.
Despite legislative efforts to combat sexual violence following the 2012 Delhi gang rape case, activists highlight the continued vulnerability of women in India, as demonstrated by the recent events in Kolkata.