RG Kar Medical College & Hospital rape-murder incident: Junior doctors continued to protest for the third consecutive night at Swasthya Bhawan, Salt Lake area, in West Bengal's Kolkata. Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said she is "ready to resign" from the post.
A 31-year-old trainee doctor was allegedly raped and murdered. Her body was found in the seminar room of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9. The case triggered massive protest across the nation.
1. West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee said in a video message on Thursday, "I am ready to resign from the Chief Minister of West Bengal. I am not concerned about the post. I want justice. I am only concerned about justice getting served." Her statement came after agitating doctors refuse to meet her without live streaming.
Banerjee said she wanted the victim to get justice and apologised to the "to the people who expected that the issue would be resolved". She said, “...We want that, as per the Supreme Court instruction, they [doctors] must join their duty.”
"Though, three days passed after the Supreme Court verdict, but we are not taking any disciplinary action because sometimes we have to tolerate. It is our duty...," the West Bengal chief minister said.
2. Governor CV Ananda Bose resolved to "socially boycott the Chief Minister". He said, "Socially boycott means I will not be sharing any public platform with the Chief Minister nor will I participate in any public program which involves the Chief Minister."
"My role as Governor will be confined to the constitutional obligations which I have discharged in respect of the Chief Minister. Nothing more, nothing less. I am deeply pained that serious allegations of a criminal nature have been levelled against the highest officer who is supposed to prevent crime in Kolkata, the Kolkata Police Commission...," Bose said.
3. On Thursday, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials collected the dental impression of Sanjay Roy, arrested prime accused in the rape-murder incident at state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, as part of their investigation, an officer told news agency PTI.
Roy's dental impression could play a vital role as evidence in the case. "There were bite marks on the body of the woman and the post-mortem report has mentioned those. Our idea is to match those with the accused's dental impression," the official said.
4. Junior doctors continued their 'cease work' and sit-in demonstration outside the West Bengal Health Department headquarters for the third consecutive day on Friday. This was a day after the proposed talks to resolve the RG Kar hospital impasse between agitating junior doctors and the Bengal government failed to take off.
According to PTI, around 30 medics, representing 26 medical colleges participating in the stir, had visited Nabanna for the meeting that failed to materialise after the government did not accept the doctors' demand for live-streaming of the talks. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the meeting with the junior doctors cannot be live-streamed as demanded by them because the issue is sub-judice and before the Supreme Court.
5. The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday morning conducted search operations at the residences and offices of persons "close" to arrested former principal of RG Kar hospital, Sandip Ghosh, in connection with alleged financial irregularities at the medical establishment, an official said.
(With inputs from agencies)
