Agitating junior doctors, whose nine representatives are on a fast-unto-death demonstration, termed talks with senior officials of the West Bengal government as 'the most disappointing meeting so far'.
A woman was stabbed to death in Kolkata after being chased and allegedly stabbed multiple times outside a popular eatery by three people, including a minor. Police suspect the attack was an honor killing, as the victim was reportedly having an extramarital affair with one of the suspects. The three suspects have been arrested.
A crude bomb kept in a bag exploded near the Dum Dum cantonment on Saturday, leaving two children injured.
The Madhya Pradesh high court in Jabalpur on Saturday directed protesting doctors in the state to call off their strike over the brutal rape and murder of a young doctor in Kolkata immediately, and return to work.
Ending the logjam persisting for 42 days in the wake of the rape and murder of a young doctor at RG Kar hospital, the agitating medics withdrew the 'cease work' after holding a march to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) office in Salt Lake in Kolkata from the state health department's headquarters, where they had been demonstrating for over a week.
'Sanjay Roy is not alone.' 'If he's kept alive, maybe we will know what happened.' 'Why was he in the chest medicine department that night when he never went there earlier?' 'Nobody will parade in front of a CCTV camera and then go and murder someone.' 'There are several people who are involved in this heinous crime. They have to be identified and punished.'
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday urged the junior doctors protesting the rape and murder of their colleague at R G Kar Hospital to end their fast-unto-death stir, stating that most of their demands have been addressed while rejecting their insistence on removing the state health secretary.
Banerjee had on Wednesday said an amendment to existing laws will be passed in the state assembly next week to ensure capital punishment to convicted rapists.
A two-day special session of the West Bengal assembly was convened by the government on September 2 to table and pass a Bill which would provide for capital punishment to convicted rapists, Parliamentary Affairs minister Sovandeb Chattopadhyay said. The Bill would be tabled for discussion and passage on Tuesday, the second day of the special session, Speaker Biman Banerjee said.
The minister urged the doctors to rejoin work by respecting the Supreme Court's direction to them, but refrained from giving a direct reply on whether the state government would take any punitive action for violating the apex court's order.
The protestors called the state's administrative measures "only partial victory" of their movement.
'Justice may or may not happen, but who are those people who did this to her?' 'If the hospital authorities had helped us that day, or the police, then the real culprits would have been caught.' 'Getting justice for my daughter is my goal now and I want the CM to remember that.'
The second round of talks between junior doctors and officials of the West Bengal government failed to break the medics' strike over the RG Kar issue, following the state's refusal to give written minutes of the meeting, the doctors alleged.
'Days ago, India witnessed the horror of the brutal rape and murder of a woman doctor on night duty at the R G Kar hospital in Kolkata.' 'The crime was so outrageous that any self-respecting chief minister should have resigned, bearing moral responsibility.' 'But then the terms 'self-respect' and 'moral responsibility' do not exist in the modern Indian political lexicon,' argues Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta (retd).
The e-mail, detailing the points which were discussed and agreed upon between the two sides and also those which weren't, was sent as per the state's requirement based on which the government is expected to issue directives, the doctors said.
The medics, however, declared that they would stick to their original demand of taking part in the meeting with 30 members instead of 15 people as mandated by the state government.
He indicated his conviction will remain firm even if that "uprising" ultimately puts the party he faithfully served for 13 years in the dock.
Daily life was partially affected in West Bengal on Wednesday due to a 12-hour shutdown called by the Bharatiya Janata Party, protesting the police action against demonstrators during a march to the state secretariat.
The protest continued even as the Supreme Court intervened in the matter and constituted a 10-member National Task Force to formulate a protocol for ensuring the safety and security of doctors and other healthcare professionals.
In a joint statement, they noted that while the incident highlights the prevailing "apathy, misgovernance and lack of accountability" in Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal, the state government's "apparent inclination" to shield perpetrators rather than protect victims is a "grave miscarriage of justice".
The ruling Trinamool Congress claimed that the strike call exposed the BJP's game plan to foment disturbances in the state exploiting people's pain over the alleged rape and murder of a woman doctor.
'If she manages to throw out people, go for surgical operations, clean up her image, she will be victorious.'
"I came to meet you as your 'didi' not as the chief minister," she said.
'I've come here as a commoner. Justice is needed to ensure that this incident is never repeated.'
The doctors asserts that they will take a final call on withdrawing their agitation only after the state government implements its announcements made on the previous night "in true spirit".
There are 1,55,025 active coronavirus infections in the country which comprise 1.44 per cent of the total caseload, the data stated.
While one was organised by the alumni of Ramakrishna Mission-run educational institutions, another involved students and past pupils from a well-known convent school, both echoing the demand for justice for the medic.
'She could have sat down with the students and taken a list of their grievances including their allegations and suspicions.' 'Not all suspicions are true, but you have to listen, you have to let the steam come out.'
'My primary point was where is the Mamata Banerjee who jumps and reaches out, starts talking directly and starts solving over the heads of the bureaucracy.'
Shah said BJP worker's family had complained that his body had been taken away forcibly.
Left parties and Kolkata police were on Tuesday involved in a tussle over the cremation of the body of a 16-year-old gangrape victim, who died in a city hospital after attempting suicide.
Banerjee had on Saturday invited the agitators for closed-door talks, but the offer was turned down by them.
Taking exception to Health Minister Harsh Vardhan not mentioning the death of healthcare workers due to Covid-19 in his statement in Parliament, the Indian Medical Association has published a list of 382 doctors who died due to the viral disease and demanded that they be treated as "martyrs".
In India, Opposition parties along with healthcare professionals have urged the government, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and top leaders, to take either of the Covishield or Covaxin doses, which could help in drastically reducing trust and fear issues amongst citizens., reports Sohini Das.
Indrani called her personal assistant Kajal Sharma from the UK, May 3, 2012, and told her she had to sign Sheena's resignation letter as if she was Sheena signing it. But she had to first practice the signature and send Indrani proof of her proficiency in signing Sheena's name before sending the letter off. Sharma said she was reluctant and told the court that she told Indrani as much, but Indrani demanded it of her.
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