RG Kar tragedy: Junior doctors plan to extend protests to rural Bengal

Kolkata (The Uttam Hindu): West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front (WBJDF), the umbrella body of the junior doctors protesting in the aftermath of the rape and murder of a fellow medico here, is planning to expand their base beyond urban bastions in the state to rural Bengal. “Our movement will continue unless and until the probe on the rape and murder issue reaches a logical conclusion and our demands in the matter are fulfilled in full. The movement will not now just be restricted to the metro, urban, suburban and district headquarters. This will now be spread to remote rural areas,” said Debasish Halder, one of the leading faces of the junior doctors’ movement on this issue.

Commenting on the floating of a rival association of junior doctors christened West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Association (WBJDA) on Saturday, mainly by those junior doctors who were suspended recently by the college council of RG Kar Medical College on charges of “threat culture", Halder said it is quite queer that those accused of “threat culture” are now floating an association backed by the state’s ruling party and making tall talks. Recently, one such junior doctor associated with WBJDA slapped a legal notice to Aniket Mahato, a junior doctor attached to RG Kar and another leading face of the movement against the rape and murder in context. Mahato was slapped the legal notice for his comments during a meeting with Chief Minister Banerjee, where he described these “suspended doctors” as notorious criminals. Those associated with the rival association have claimed that they are the real victims of "threat culture" by a group leading the movement on the rape and murder issue. Although the college council announced their suspension earlier this month, recently a single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court stayed the resolution of the council in the matter and observed that only the state government can take a decision on this issue.