Nationwide protests by junior doctors continued unabated on Monday following the alleged rape and murder of a medic in Kolkata. Meanwhile, the Union health ministry has approved a 25 percent increase in security deployment at central hospitals. Additionally, the CBI, which is investigating the case, has been granted permission to conduct a polygraph test on the accused, a civic volunteer.
In Kolkata, protests intensified as senior doctors Kunal Sarkar and Subarna Goswami, who had shared posts about the incident on social media, appeared before the police. The two had earlier led a march of hundreds of healthcare professionals from Calcutta Medical College to the Kolkata Police headquarters.
Also Read| Kolkata Doctor Rape-Murder: Supreme Court To Hear Plea Today; CBI To Hold Polygraph Test of Accused.
Healthcare services at state-run hospitals in West Bengal remained disrupted as junior doctors persisted with their cease-work protest. The out-patient departments experienced a heavy rush on the first day of the week, with senior doctors stepping in to manage the situation in place of their juniors.
"This protest is for seeking justice for a female doctor who faced brutality while treating patients for 36 hours at a stretch. It is the 11th day that her body was discovered, but where is the justice? We will continue this stir until we get justice for our sister," said an agitating doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital where the incident took place.
A group of lawyers from the Calcutta High Court also joined the protests, marching in a procession to demand justice and "punishment for the real culprits" in the case. In the national capital, medics continued their strike for the eighth consecutive day over the Kolkata incident, offering elective outpatient services on the road outside Nirman Bhawan in a symbolic protest.