 "Doctor Protest, Protest, Kolkata Doctor Protest")
Doctors and medical students stage a protest against the alleged rape and murder of a woman doctor at Kolkata’s R G Kar Medical College and Hospital, at civil hospital in Solapur, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024. (Photo: PTI)
Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, once a bustling hub for doctors and healthcare professionals, is now a shadow of its former self. “We are just 17 women in our hostel now. It used to house 160 junior women doctors before August 9,” a 24-year-old fourth-year MBBS student told The Indian Express, recounting the distressing aftermath of the rape and murder of a trainee doctor that has sent shockwaves across the country.
According to junior doctors of the medical college, most of the hostels on the campus are now deserted, with only the nursing hostels still occupied. The mass exodus began on August 9, the day the body of the trainee doctor was found in the seminar room, marking the start of an escalating crisis.
“After August 9, students started leaving. Some returned a few days later, but the situation worsened after the attack on the hospital by miscreants on the night of August 14. More students, especially women, decided to leave,” said the MBBS student, referencing the violent vandalism that occurred when a mob attacked a section of the hospital as protests raged outside.
Silence follows campus chaos
The RG Kar hospital campus, home to five women’s hostels, now stands eerily quiet. During a hearing on August 22, Senior Advocate Aparajita Singh informed the Supreme Court that only about 30-40 women doctors and 60-70 men doctors remain on campus, out of approximately 700 resident doctors, following the August 14 incident.
“We were terrified that night. Many nurses and doctors who were protesting ran to our hostel as the mob attacked. We spent the night in fear, unable to sleep,” a second-year MBBS student was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.
Court orders to beef up security
The Supreme Court has since reprimanded the West Bengal government, questioning the police’s actions during the mob attack. The court has ordered the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to provide security to the hospital, leading to the arrest of 37 individuals involved in the violence.
With 150 CISF personnel now stationed on campus, there is a glimmer of hope that some students may return. However, fear still looms large. “CISF personnel have been deployed, and we feel safer. But until all the culprits are arrested, how can we feel completely secure? I do not want to work in a hospital where rapists and murderers might be among us,” said another MBBS student from Purulia.
Nurses continue to feel ‘deeply unsafe’
Nurses, however, face a harsher reality. “We are scared, but we have no choice but to stay. Doctors can skip duties or have male colleagues cover for them, but we cannot. We continue to work night shifts, often finding ourselves alone in the wards, feeling deeply unsafe,” said a 42-year-old nurse.
Some of the women junior doctors who have remained on campus are determined to continue the fight for justice. “My parents want me to return home, but I decided to stay and support the agitation. Without our presence, how can we fight for justice? This fight must continue so that such a tragedy never befalls another woman doctor or student,” said another medical student, resolute in her stance.
First Published: Aug 23 2024 | 1:43 PM IST
