Kolkata medic rape-murder: UP doctors urge J P Nadda for strict safety measures, protests continue

Lucknow, Aug 13 (PTI) A doctors' association in Uttar Pradesh has written to Union Health Minister J P Nadda, pressing for improved security measures at medical institutions, even as medicos on Tuesday continued protests in the state over the brutal rape and murder of a doctor in Kolkata.

The protests are being held for the second day in a row at different medical colleges in the state from Greater Noida in the west to Varanasi in the east and cities such as Kanpur, Jhansi, Agra, Gorakhpur besides state capital Lucknow.

However, emergency services continued to function at the medical colleges participating in the protests, a senior office-bearer of the state Resident Doctors' Association (RDA) told PTI.

Meanwhile, former chief minister and Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Tuesday demanded strict punishment in cases of crime against women and urged for "sensitive arrangements" at every level.

The state RDA's president Dr Hardeep Jogi said the association has written to the Union Health Minister, urging for safety and security measures at hospitals in light of the "disturbing and horrific" murder of a second-year postgraduate student at the state-run RG Kar Medical College in the West Bengal capital four days ago.

He said the protest has been joined by Centre-run medical colleges such as Aligarh Muslim University, Banaras Hindu University, and several hospitals run by the state in Meerut, Jhansi, Kanpur, Gorakhpur, Agra, and relatively newer ones in Greater Noida, Saharanpur and Orai.

"Some colleges that do not have proper associations yet have individual resident doctors connecting with the association and they all are participating in the protest today," Dr Jogi told PTI.

The RDA's letter to Nadda on Monday read, "The crime, which involved rape before the murder, underscores the severe inadequacies in campus security and overall safety." "The RDA Uttar Pradesh expresses its profound condolences for the loss of this young woman and strongly denounces the failures that permitted such a grave offence to occur. The inability to safeguard our institutions reflects a critical lapse in administration. and governance," it stated.

The association also sought an urgent meeting with the health minister to discuss the pressing issues faced by the medical community, the "escalating violence" against doctors and the "deteriorating working conditions" which have created "an atmosphere of fear".

"This must be addressed to prevent future tragedies," it said.

The doctors' association has proposed a series of measures for enhancing safety and security within medical institutions, including deployment of police and security personnel in adequate numbers and CCTV installation at vulnerable locations.

"In addition, we have requested the West Bengal state government to hand the case to the CBI to conduct a comprehensive and impartial investigation into the incident and ensure that those responsible are brought to justice," the RDA said.

Meanwhile, the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday ordered the transfer of the probe into the incident to the Central Bureau of Investigation.

The RDA also urged authorities to "investigate the conditions that allowed this crime to happen and implement necessary improvements".

"Take immediate actions to enhance the safety of doctors, particularly women, in their workplaces," it said, also demanding adequate compensation to the family of the deceased student doctor.

At Banaras Hindu University's Institute of Medical Sciences in Varanasi, resident doctors boycotted work as they joined the protest and raised slogans, demanding justice and CBI probe into the case.

In Gonda district, too, resident doctors joined the protest call given by the Federation of Resident Doctors Association of India (FORDA) and submitted a memorandum to the principal of the medical college.

"Senior and junior residents boycotted the OPD work and submitted a memorandum to the principal Dr Dhananjay Shrikant Kotsthane," the college's Nodal Officer Dr Kuldeep Pandey said.

"They demand that the government should take strict action in the case of brutality with the female doctor. Also, proper security arrangements should be made for them," he added.

The protest impacted medical services at the hospital as only essential services were provided in the emergency ward. PTI COR KIS RPA