2 days Ago
RG Kar case: A day after agitating doctors met with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who agreed to their terms, they said they will continue their sit-in and not rejoin. This comes after agreeing to their demands, the Mamata government replaced Kolkata Police chief Vineet Goyal and appointed Manoj Kumar Verma. The government also removed two other senior health department officials.
The protesters called the government’s measures as “only partial victory” of their movement. The doctors asked for the removal of state health secretary NS Nigam and said that they were assured by Banerjee of an action on it. The agitating doctors are expected to write an email to Chief Secretary Manoj Pant seeking another meeting later in the day with CM Banerjee.
The demanded discussions on safety and security of doctors inside hospital premises and a lowdown on how they are planning to use the amount of Rs100 crore allocated for tightening doctors’ safety. The doctors have also demanded immediate notification of the task force, headed by the chief secretary, in medical colleges. On Monday, the state government appointed Verma as the new city police commissioner, replacing Goyal.
Director of Health Services (DHS) Debashis Halder, Director of Medical Education (DME) Kaustav Nayak, and Deputy Commissioner of Kolkata Police's North Division Abhishek Gupta were also removed as promised by Banerjee during the meeting. Swapan Soren has been appointed as the interim DHS, while no announcement has been made regarding the position of the DME. Goyal, who was removed from his role, has been criticised for his handling of the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at the RG Kar hospital.
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