Kolkata rape-murder: Resident doctors' strike in Maharashtra intensifies as seniors join them

The nursing staff of Nair Hospital in Mumbai stage a protest against the rape-murder of a Kolkata doctor, on Friday. Pic/PTI

The resident doctors' indefinite strike intensified in Maharashtra on its fourth day on Friday, with their seniors joining the protest, disrupting services at government and civic hospitals and inconveniencing thousands of patients in the state.

Dr Pratik Debaje, president of the Maharashtra State Association of Residential Doctors (Central-MARD), told news agency PTI that 6,000-7,000 senior resident doctors, affiliated to the Maharashtra Association of Bonded Resident Doctors (MABRD) and the Association of State Medical Interns (ASMI), joined the strike on Friday.

"Around 17,000-18,000 (resident) doctors in Maharashtra are on strike at present," Debaje said.

The resident doctors in the state launched an indefinite strike on Tuesday morning to express solidarity with the nationwide agitation over the Kolkata rape-murder case. Last week, a 31-year-old postgraduate trainee was brutally raped and murdered in Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

On the fourth day of the resident doctors' strike, elective services, including outpatient departments (OPDs), operation theatres (OTs), and lab procedures remain affected, causing inconvenience to thousands of patients in Mumbai and other parts of the state.

Emergency services, however, continue uninterrupted, said officials.

The Central-MARD has demanded an impartial and transparent investigation into the Kolkata incident, the speedy formation of an expert committee for the implementation of the Central Healthcare Protection Act, as well as improved security measures such as fully functional CCTVs and well-equipped guards, quality hostels, and proper on-call rooms for resident doctors.

Debaje said that the resident doctors at JJ Hospital in Mumbai and other major hospital campuses are peacefully protesting over their demands, but they have planned a sit-in at Azad Maidan in Fort later in the day. A large number of resident doctors are likely to join the protest on the ground.

On Wednesday, MABRD announced its support for the resident doctors' strike and threatened to intensify it from Friday if their demands remained unfulfilled.

So far, one person has been arrested in the Kolkata rape-murder case. The probe has been transferred from the Kolkata Police to the Central Bureau of Investigation.

Late on Thursday night, a large group of miscreants entered the hospital and vandalised it. The state government and the police are facing criticism and questions over the handling of the Kolkata rape-murder case before its transfer to the central probe agency.

(With PTI inputs)