OPD services in government hospitals across several states were disrupted on Tuesday as resident doctors continued their strike for a second day, protesting the alleged rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee in Kolkata. Meanwhile, the CBI has taken over the investigation into the case.
The Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association (FORDA), which had called for a nationwide indefinite strike, announced on Tuesday night that they would be ending their strike after Union Health Minister J P Nadda met their demands.
However, resident doctors at central government hospitals like AIIMS, the Indira Gandhi Hospital, and other associations, including the Federation of All India Medical Associations (FAIMA), stated they would continue their protest until a central law to protect medical personnel is enacted.
FORDA representatives met with Mr. Nadda at his New Delhi residence on Tuesday night. They said the strike would officially end on Wednesday morning.
A key outcome of the meeting was the health minister’s agreement to form a committee, including FORDA members, to work on a Central Protection Act, with efforts to begin within the next 15 days, according to a FORDA statement.
In West Bengal, where the protests began, junior doctors’ widespread agitation severely impacted state healthcare services, halting emergency and outpatient departments in most government hospitals.
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In the national capital, elective services in government hospitals remained suspended on Tuesday due to the ongoing strike.
Resident doctors in Maharashtra also joined the indefinite strike on Tuesday. While all elective services in hospitals across the state were stopped, emergency services remained operational, according to Dr. Pratik Debaje, president of Maharashtra State Association of Resident Doctors (Central-MARD).
Meanwhile, the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday transferred the investigation of the case from the Kolkata Police to the CBI. The court urged the protesting doctors to call off their strike, emphasizing their duty to treat patients in government hospitals.
Following the court’s direction, the CBI took over the investigation, with a team of officials from Delhi, including forensic scientists and medical experts, set to visit Kolkata on Wednesday.
The High Court’s decision came in response to a petition by the victim’s parents seeking a court-monitored investigation and several PILs requesting the transfer of the probe to the CBI.
The interim order was issued five days after the brutal incident at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. The postgraduate trainee’s body, bearing severe injury marks, was discovered in the hospital’s chest department seminar hall on Friday morning. The preliminary autopsy report indicated that she had been violently sexually assaulted.
Although the Kolkata Police arrested a civic volunteer, Sanjay Roy, in connection with the case on Saturday, this did not quell the growing allegations of a botched investigation and evidence tampering, which have fueled the outrage among junior doctors, spreading the protest across medical campuses in the state and beyond.
In Uttar Pradesh, doctors continued to protest for a second consecutive day in various cities, including Greater Noida, Varanasi, Kanpur, Jhansi, Agra, Gorakhpur, and Lucknow, following an appeal to Union Health Minister J P Nadda for enhanced security measures in medical institutions.
In Shimla, the capital of Himachal Pradesh, patients at Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital faced difficulties due to the resident doctors’ strike. Many, especially elderly patients who had traveled from distant areas, had to leave without receiving treatment.
“We have shut down the OPDs to protest the alleged rape and murder of a female doctor in Kolkata and to demand justice for her,” said S Sharma, a resident doctor at IGMC hospital.
In Agartala, doctors and students at Agartala Government Medical College staged a demonstration, demanding strict punishment for those responsible for the crime.
In Ranchi, Jharkhand, junior doctors at Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences initiated a ‘pen-down’ strike by boycotting OPD services and elective surgeries, while still attending to emergency cases.
In Rajasthan, government hospital services in Jaipur, including at the largest state-run Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Hospital, were disrupted as resident doctors went on strike in protest of the Kolkata incident.
On Monday evening, the Jaipur Association of Resident Doctors (JARD) announced the immediate suspension of non-essential services.
FORDA stated that their strike for a law ensuring the safety of healthcare workers would continue. In a post on X, the resident doctors’ body wrote, “No assurance on the Central Healthcare Protection Act—no call off—our demands remain incomplete. We will continue the strike until they are fully accepted.”
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) met with Union Health Minister J P Nadda to discuss key issues affecting the medical community, presenting a memorandum of demands, including the designation of hospitals as safe zones, the introduction of a central law against violence, and security stipulations for medical college recognition.
Dr. R V Asokan, National President of the IMA, stated that Nadda agreed to consider the first two demands and accepted the need for security stipulations for medical colleges.
The IMA’s call for better working conditions and accommodation for resident doctors also received a positive response from the minister, according to a statement.
