Kolkata Rape and Murder Case : The Doctor Rape and Murder at Bengal’s RG Kar Medical College has shaken the entire country. There is outrage and anger in the entire nation over this matter. Indian Medical Association (IMA) has now demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention in this matter.
In a letter to PM, IMA states that on the morning of 9th August 2024, a young post graduate of Chest Medicine was brutally raped and murdered while on duty at RG Kar Medical College, Kolkata in the early hours of 9th August 2024. This has shocked the medical fraternity and the nation alike. On 15th August 2024, the hospital was vandalized by a large crowd which destroyed various sections of the hospital including the area where the victim was found. Doctors especially women are vulnerable to violence because of the nature of the profession. It is for the authorities to provide for the safety of doctors inside hospitals and campuses
The RG Kar, Kolkata incident has brought to fore the two dimensions of violence in the hospital: A crime of barbaric scale due to the lack of safe spaces for women and the hooliganism that is unleashed due to lack of an organised security protocol. The crime and the vandalism have shocked the conscience of the nation. Doctors across the country have withdrawn non-essential services today and are providing only emergency and causality services, the letter reads.
Five Demands of Indian Medical Association (IMA)
1. A Central Act incorporating the amendments of 2020 in the Epidemic Diseases Act of 1897 into the draft “The Healthcare Services Personnel and Clinical Establishments (Prohibition of Violence and Damage to Property Bill 2019)” would strengthen the existing 25 state legislations
2. The security protocols of all hospitals should be no less than an airport. Declaring the hospitals as safe zones with mandatory security entitlements is the first step.
3.The 36 hours duty shift that the victim was in and the lack of safe spaces to rest and adequate rest rooms warrant thorough overhaul of the working and living conditions of the resident doctors.
4.Meticulous and professional investigation of the crime in a timeframe and rendering of justice.
5.Appropriate and dignified compensation to the bereaved family commensurate with the cruelty inflicted.