Junior doctors protesting the murder at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on Wednesday stated that they would persist with their sit-in and refrain from returning to duty, even after the state-appointed Manoj Kumar Verma as the new police chief of Kolkata, replacing Vineet Goyal, fulfilling one of the key demands of the protesters. The state government also dismissed two senior health department officials in response to their demands.
1. West Bengal Junior Doctors Front sent another email to the West Bengal Chief Secretary requesting one more meeting with CM Mamata Banerjee as some demands remain unresolved, ANI reported.
2. The doctors continued to demand the removal of the state health secretary NS Nigam, saying Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee assured them on Monday that action would be taken on the matter.
3. Senior TMC MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy said on Tuesday that he has resigned as the editor of the party's publication, ‘Jago Bangla’ (Wake up, Bengal), citing personal reasons. He recently garnered attention for supporting the junior doctors' protests following the rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
4. “I am leaving the post as editor of Jago Bangla for personal reasons as I cannot do justice to my post since taking over in 2022. Not that I am faced with any interference in discharging my responsibility. Someone else, who can perform this role in a better way, should take over,” Roy said.
5. Earlier, IPS officer Manoj Kumar Verma was appointed the new Commissioner of Police (CP) for Kolkata following the removal of Vineet Kumar Goyal from the position.
6. The Bengal chapter of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) on Tuesday urged the West Bengal Medical Council (WBMC) to revoke the registration of Sandip Ghosh, the former principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. The CBI arrested Ghosh on September 2 for alleged financial irregularities at the hospital. In response, the WBMC issued a show-cause notice to him on September 7, asking for his explanation within three days regarding why his medical registration should not be cancelled.
7. The father of the deceased trainee doctor from Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College on Tuesday said that her daughter would have been alive if West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had taken action against former RG Kar Medical College principal Sandeep Ghosh in 2021.
8. “CBI is doing its job, we cannot say anything about this (investigation)... Whoever is connected to this murder in some way or those who are involved in tampering with evidence, all are under investigation... They are sitting in protest (protesting junior doctors) with pain, they are like my children, we feel pain seeing them... The day the accused will be punished, that day will be our victory... In the year 2021 also, many allegations were levelled against former principal Sandeep Ghosh; if the Chief Minister had taken action against Sandeep Ghosh, then, today, my daughter would have been alive,” the victim's father told reporters.
9. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the Supreme Court noted that the CBI's investigation is to unearth the absolute truth. SC said it has gone through a status report filed by the CBI and said that the Central agency has responded to all of the issues raised by the top court, including the process of post-mortem. The top court said that CBI is not sleeping over, and they are required to give time to unearth the truth. The top court also sought a status report on the probe into financial irregularities in the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
10. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court denied stopping live streaming of the proceedings, saying it is a matter of public interest. Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal raised concern about live streaming, saying it had huge implications and clarifying that he was not representing the accused but representing the state of West Bengal.
(With inputs from agencies)
