Kolkata Doctor Rape-Murder: Delhi Doctors stage hunger strike, candle march showing solidarity

New Delhi: Resident doctors at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) held a candlelight march on Wednesday evening to express solidarity with junior doctors in West Bengal protesting the brutal rape and murder of a female postgraduate doctor.

The event, organized under the banner "Justice for Abhaya," featured doctors carrying candles and displaying posters calling for safer workplaces and accountability.

Dr Raghunandan Dixit, General Secretary of the AIIMS Resident Doctors’ Association, told PTI, "From day one, we have demanded justice for a female doctor who lost her life while on duty. Today, we march with candles in her memory and continue to demand action."

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Another doctor expressed disappointment with the pace of the investigation, saying, "It’s been two months since the incident in West Bengal, and justice has still not been served."

According to the PTI report, he added, Calling it a "complete system and government failure", which has led the doctors in West Bengal to go on a hunger strike. "We stand united with the doctors of West Bengal and will take further steps as necessary, as we are all in touch with them."

Meanwhile, earlier in the day, doctors at Maulana Azad Medical College also held a one-day hunger strike.

Aparna Setia, president of Maulana Azad Medical College (MAMC) RDA, said earlier during the day that doctors are holding a symbolic hunger strike during working hours from 9 am to 4 pm on Wednesday.

"During this period, we will abstain from eating or drinking to express our support for the junior doctors in West Bengal who have been on a hunger strike," Aparna Setia, president of Maulana Azad Medical College (MAMC) RDA told PTI.

Doctors at Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital also participated, wearing black ribbons as a symbol of solidarity and remembrance for their murdered colleague.

The GTB doctors, in a statement, said the black ribbons they wore signify their grief and serve as a reminder that the medical community will not remain silent in the face of such brutal violence, news agency PTI reported.

In Kolkata, seven junior doctors have been on a fast-unto-death since October 5 night, supported by several senior colleagues who joined them in solidarity.

The junior doctors began their protest following the rape-murder of a fellow medic at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9. They concluded their stir after 42 days on September 21, following assurances from the state government to address their demands.

The medics, however, renewed their 'cease work' on October 1 after an attack on them by a patient's family at the state-run College of Medicine & Sagore Dutta Hospital the previous week.

Also Read:50 Senior Doctors at RG Kar Medical College submit En-masse Resignation