Amid growing outrage over the horrifying assault on the 31-year-old doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Padma Award-winning doctors have taken a heartfelt step.
On Sunday, they wrote a letter to Prime Minister Modi, urging him to step in personally to address this deeply troubling situation. Their appeal underscores the profound concern felt by both the medical community and the public.
In their letter, 71 doctors, expressing a deep sense of urgency, are calling for the implementation of stronger measures to address and prevent such atrocities.
In order to deal with these atrocities effectively, doctors have outlined specific recommendations for law enforcement agencies and policy makers to ensure immediate & decisive action. These recommendations include:-
- Stricter enforcement of existing laws
- Harsher and time-bound punishments for perpetrators of sexual violence
- Enhanced safety measures in hospitals and medical institutions
- Enactment and implementation of a special law for the protection of healthcare workers
- Harshest possible punishment for violence against healthcare workers
The doctors urge the central and state governments to quickly enact and implement a separate law for the protection of healthcare workers, ensuring its rapid enforcement on the ground. They highlight that a proposed bill, “The Prevention of Violence Against Doctors, Medical Professionals and Medical Institutions Bill,” has been ready since 2019 but not yet been tabled in Parliament for passage and adoption. Thus, they strongly recommend that an ordinance to this effect should be brought immediately.
They also assert the importance of not allowing such acts to become normalized or forgotten and urge the Prime Minister to let this tragedy serve as a catalyst for real, lasting change. The nation owes it to the late Nirbhaya, and to all victims of sexual violence, to create a society where such horrors are unthinkable.
As recipients of one of the nation’s prestigious civilian honours, the Padma Shree Awardees, feel a deep responsibility to speak out and demand timely action and appropriate changes through this letter.
