Over 8,000 male doctors will go on strike in Maharashtra, demanding justice in the Satara female doctor suicide case. The strike will continue until their demands are met, and doctors have issued an ultimatum to the government. Outpatient department (OPD) services were severely disrupted at the BMC hospitals and medical colleges across the state.
A total of 35,000 male and female doctors, affiliated with the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD), staged a protest to seek justice for the deceased and urge the state government to impose a safety law for medical professionals.
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The association said its protest will continue until its demands are fulfilled. BMC WARD General Secretary Dr Amar Agame said resident doctors are not working at the hospital's routine schedule. "Only some elective services are being provided. Routine services and lab services are not operational," he said.
"However, emergency services like ICU, MICU, PICU, casualty services, emergency lab services, and blood bank services are fully functional. We have submitted our demands to the government on the 25th. Once the government addresses our demands through a meeting and provides a response, we will consider ending our strike," Agame added. He warned of escalating protests if the demands were not met.
The doctor, posted in Satara, was found dead in a hotel room. She had left a note written on her hand that named a police official and two others. Suspended Police Sub-Inspector Gopal Badne, an accused in the Satara woman doctor suicide case, was produced before the Additional District and Sessions Court in Phaltan in Maharashtra on October 26 and remanded to police custody till October 30.
Satara Police arrested two persons, Police Sub-Inspector Gopal Badne and Prashant Bankar, in connection with the case. A case was registered against the accused duo under charges of rape and abetment to suicide. The Police Sub-Inspector Badne named in the note was suspended following this development.