The Kolkata junior doctors protesting the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College staged a 22-hour sit-in near the Kolkata Police Headquarters in Lalbazar before they were allowed to meet Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal, demanding his resignation while alleging that he had not fulfilled his duties properly.
The police agreed to let 22 doctor representatives meet Goyal and submit their demands.
The protest was resolved after senior police officials met with the junior doctors for the third time.
On Monday afternoon, the doctors marched toward Lalbazar as part of their 'Lalbazar Abhiyan' but were stopped by barricades and guardrails set up near the Police Commissioner’s office.
The doctors were seen displaying a replica of a spinal cord to symbolize their protest against the Kolkata Police, whom they accuse of having "lost their spine."
The Junior Doctors’ Forum presented a document to the Commissioner which read, “You have failed as CP of Kolkata Police to protect the sanctity of the crime scene and stop the renovation work nearby…You have failed as CP of Kolkata Police to ensure a transparent investigation of rape and murder of Abhaya and speedy arrest of the culprit."
It continued to say, "In view of the aforementioned historic failure which serves as a blot in the policing history of this country, we demand you to step down from the chair of Police Commissioner immediately.”
A protesting junior doctor told Indian Express, “We have met with the Police Commissioner and submitted a deputation seeking his resignation. We are yet to get justice and our agitation will continue. While we held the meeting we carried there a replica of a spinal cord. This was to protest and show him that he did not have one.”
Hundreds of junior doctors have occupied the area near the Kolkata Police headquarters since Monday afternoon, protesting the slow progress and mishandling of the rape-murder investigation.
Despite the police's attempts to remove them from the site, the doctors have blocked traffic and vowed to continue their protest until their demands are met.
The body of an on-duty post-graduate trainee, who was allegedly raped and murdered, was found in the seminar room of state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in the city. Junior doctors have been on cease-work since that day.
