Striking junior doctors in West Bengal, India have decided to resume essential services in a partial return of medical facilities.
The Doctors said they will remain on strike over the rape and death of a colleague over a month ago.
The rape and murder of a 31-year-old female doctor in West Bengal in August sparked a wave of protests by doctors demanding increased workplace safety for women and justice for their killed colleague, prompting the Supreme Court to establish a hospital safety taskforce.
Junior doctors will resume critical responsibilities on Saturday, according to a statement issued Thursday by the West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front, which represents over 7,000 physicians in the state.
Doctors are seeking improved security, including more CCTV monitoring, the deployment of female security personnel, and appropriate lighting, restrooms, and rest areas.
A police volunteer has been arrested in connection with the doctor’s rape and death at the R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata city, the former principal of the college has been arrested on charges of evidence tampering and graft, and the police chief of the capital Kolkata has been removed.
Although stricter rules were enacted in response to the 2012 brutal gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student in New Delhi, advocates say the Kolkata case demonstrates how women in the country continue to face sexual abuse.
