New Delhi: Continuing their demand for justice, Kolkata’s junior doctors staged a poignant protest on Monday, marching towards Lalbazar, the city’s police headquarters, armed with roses and a replica of the human spine. The protest, a response to the brutal attack on doctors at RG Kar Medical College on August 14, turned into a tense standoff with police as they were stopped at a barricade on BB Ganguly Street.
The doctors’ protest, organised by the West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front (WBJDF), accused the Kolkata police of failing to adequately investigate the attack and prevent further violence against them. They called out the police’s inaction during the ransacking of the RG Kar hospital and criticised their attempt to stop the peaceful march demanding justice. “Where were the cops when a mob attacked us?” a junior doctor questioned, highlighting the doctors’ sense of betrayal and frustration, The Times of India Reported.
The police, anticipating the protest, had fortified Lalbazar with heavy security measures, including multiple barricades and a massive deployment of police personnel, including the Rapid Action Force to contain the protestors. Despite the doctors’ assurance of a peaceful rally ending in front of Lalbazar with only representatives meeting the commissioner, the police refused to remove the barricade, leading to a tense standoff between the protesting doctors and police.
The doctors, undeterred, sat down on the road, demanding a meeting with Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal at the protest site. The protest continued well into the night to be heard and their demand for accountability.
The protest, marked by a palpable sense of anger and frustration, also saw a moment of celebration when news of Sandip Ghosh, the former principal of RG Kar Medical College, being arrested reached the doctors.
