Patients across the country heaved a sigh of relief late yesterday as major doctors' associations called off their 11-day strike over the rape-murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata after the Supreme Court appealed to them to resume work.
However, the junior doctors in West Bengal refused to end their agitation, saying the Supreme Court has “avoided the justice part”.
On August 9, the body of the postgraduate trainee doctor was found in the seminar hall of state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. A civic volunteer was arrested the next day. Later, the Calcutta High Court handed over the case to the CBI. The brutality of the crime and the alleged mismanagement of the probe by the Kolkata Police and the state administration had caused widespread protests in West Bengal and other states.
The Supreme Court, while resuming the hearing in the suo motu case, had urged the protesting doctors across the country to resume their work. The bench led by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra had assured them that no coercive action will be taken by respective state governments for the protest.
In Delhi, doctors at the AIIMS, RML, LNJP and Maulana Azad Medical College, ended their strike, which began on August 12.
Following the SC's appeal and directions about safety of doctors, the Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA), a major body of RDAs across the country, too, called off the strike, asking the resident doctors to resume their duty.
ALSO READ: Former principal Dr Sandip Ghosh, 4 doctors to undergo polygraph test
The Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA), an umbrella body of doctors, also ended their protest.
In Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, too, the junior doctors called off their strike.
In Chandigarh too, doctors at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) ended their protest.
It comes as a major relief to patients, as the outpatient department (OPD) in government hospitals was closed, even as emergency services were functioning.
However, the doctors' body in West Bengal refused to follow suit, reaffirming their commitment to the fight for justice for the victim and safety of healthcare workers. "We have decided to continue our ceasework because justice is yet to be delivered. The Supreme Court has avoided the justice part. We must not forget that getting justice for our sister is our prime goal," one of the protesting doctors told PTI.
