Nearly four months after the gruesome rape-and-murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, junior doctors in the city have taken to the streets in protest today, December 6 — again.
The West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front (WBJDF), which was spearheading the doctors’ agitation in Kolkata, announced the rally from the headquarters of the West Bengal Medical Council to Swasthya Bhawan, the office of the state’s health ministry yesterday, December 5.
This announcement has come in response to the alleged reinstation of Dr Avik De and Dr Birupaksha Biswas into the West Bengal Medical Council.
According to a report by The Week, De and Biswas, who worked at the IPGMER SSKM Hospital and Burdwan Medical College and Hospital, respectively, were allegedly close associates with RG Kar’s disgraced principal, Dr Sandip Ghosh. They were also members of the Trinamool Chhatra Parishad (TMCP), the ruling party's student wing.
The two doctors were debarred from West Bengal Medical Council in August after being seen at RG Kar Medical College on August 9, the day of the rape-and-murder incident, despite having no formal connection with the college. They were also called in by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as part of the agency’s investigation into financial irregularities and corruption at the hospital in September, Times of India reported.
In addition, De and Biswas were also a part of the infamous “threat syndicate” that has plagued the hospitals in West Bengal.
Therefore, on December 2, when the two attended a meeting of the WBMC, the junior doctors staged an impromptu sit-in protest in front of the council’s headquarters on the same night.
Following this, the doctors’ protest, which saw a period of lull in the state, saw a resurgence today. Doctors who were part of the protest told EdexLive that the parents of Abhaya, the victim of the RG Kar rape-and-murder incident, also joined the protest.
State gov’t shielding members of threat syndicate
According to a previous report by EdexLive, the threat syndicate controlled the activities at medical colleges through nefarious means and had the power over transfers, circulation of question papers, and even which doctor passed examinations.
This syndicate, which cast a dark shadow over the state’s medical system, also resorted to means such as extortion and intimidation to have their way, alleged junior doctors.
Following complaints by doctors, Swasthya Bhawan initiated a probe into De and Biswas in September on charges of corruption, misconduct and intimidation of other junior doctors and even faculty members.
“Despite Swasthya Bhavan's own investigation committee finding them 'guilty' and recommending punishment, the kingpins of the threat syndicate, Avik - Birupakshya, were reinstated to their position in West Bengal Medical Council, why is the Health Ministry still idle?” asks WBJDF in the poster announcing the protest, which was accessed by The Telegraph.
Speaking to EdexLive, Dr Debashis Halder, a member of the WBJDF and one of the protesting doctors said, “The reinstation of De and Biswas into the WBMC would not have happened without the knowledge of Mamata Banerjee, the health minister of the state. This protest is to hold her accountable.”
The protesting doctors allege that De and Biswas, who were the “kingpins of the threat culture” were being protected by the health ministry.
“When junior doctors from the RG Kar launched their hunger strike on October 5, one of their demands was the ending of the threat culture prevalent in the state’s hospitals. However, the government seems to be shielding and rehabilitating De and Biswas as they belong to the ruling party,” alleges Dr Anustup Mukherjee, a junior doctor at the Government Medical College in Kolkata and WBJDF member who was a part of today’s protest.
Public support frustration & outrage still prevalent
After junior doctors and healthcare workers all across Kolkata and West Bengal launched their agitation in August in response to the incident, they received widespread public support not only in the state but also in the rest of the country.
Medical associations like the Indian Medical Association (IMA), Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA), United Doctors’ Front Association (UDFA), Resident Doctors’ Associations, and student organisations all over India extended their solidarity to the doctors in West Bengal.
According to a report by The Telegraph, people and civil society groups from all over West Bengal aided the doctors protesting in front of Swasthya Bhawan in September by providing them with cooked food, bio-toilets, and lights powered by diesel generators.
When the junior doctors sat on their indefinite hunger strike in October and organised the “Droher Carnival” as part of the protest on October 15, the same day as the State Government’s Durga Puja carnival, people from all over the city thronged to the protest site, instead of the State Government’s event.
This sense of solidarity with the doctors’ movement is still prevalent among the people of Kolkata, says Dr Halder. “Several common citizens reached out to us and expressed their support when we called for today’s rally,” he adds.
Apart from solidarity, however, it is anger and frustration at the delay in justice that has united West Bengal.
“Nobody knows what has been happening with the case. The CBI has named only Sanjay Roy in their chargesheet, and it is clear that he is being made a scapegoat. There is no supplementary chargesheet on Dr Sandip Ghosh and his aides for their involvement in the incident, and the state government has yet to issue clearance for their prosecution in the financial irregularities case. People are waiting for justice, and are frustrated because it is not being delivered,” says Dr Halder.
The reinstation of De and Biswas into the WBMC only adds insult to injury, Dr Anustup says.
“When the health ministry does not punish two doctors who were found guilty of extortion and harassment in a probe initiated by the ministry itself, it feels like a stab in the back for everyone seeking justice for Abhaya. It sends a message that the state government is okay with letting the threat culture continue,” he laments.
Ruling party affiliates must be removed from positions of power, say doctors
According to the doctors, the only way to eliminate the threat culture and improve the working conditions in state-run hospitals in West Bengal is to ensure that people like De and Biswas face the repercussions for their action.
“Abhaya was killed due to this toxicity at RG Kar, We cannot let it go unpunished anymore,” says Dr Tuhin Barman, another doctor who was part of today’s protest and the larger doctors’ agitation in West Bengal.
He adds that threat culture has always been a part of West Bengal’s healthcare system, and those involved in it were associated with the party in power. “The Left Front did it then; the Trinamool Congress is doing it now. The hands have changed; the culture didn’t,” he stated.
Junior doctors add that disciplinary committees and redressal committees in the medical colleges are also constituted by the same people who perpetuate this threat culture.
“It becomes difficult to report incidents of harassment, sexual assault and threats when the reporting bodies are comprised of the perpetrators and their enablers,” says Dr Halder.
He adds that the state government must conduct elections for these bodies. “This way, we can prevent political hooligans from misusing positions of power,” he states.
While this would not end the threat culture, which is a systemic issue, Dr Barman adds that making an example out of De and Biswas by punishing them would be a step towards that goal.
