In response to the tragic incident, many committees scaled back their celebrations significantly.
Observing that working conditions have made doctors and health professionals susceptible to violence, the Supreme Court on Tuesday constituted a 10-member task force to formulate a national protocol for ensuring safety and facilities for them in the wake of the rape and murder of a medic in Kolkata.
Police said they began lathicharging and tear gassing after the agitators managed to breach the barricades at some locations and attacked the security personnel.
West Bengal is home to 43,000 Durga Pujas, and the business around it is a major economic driver.
Responding to the 'Women, Reclaim the Night' call given on social media by commoners, college students, home-makers and employees of offices will congregate in key thoroughfares in small towns and big cities, including in various parts of Kolkata.
The draft of the anti-rape bill, scheduled to be tabled by the Mamata Banerjee government in the West Bengal assembly on Tuesday, proposes capital punishment for persons convicted of rape if their actions result in the victim's death or cause her to become vegetative.
The protesting doctors said they would not work in the Outpatient Department but would partially work in emergency and essential services.
Terming the rape and murder case of a medic at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital as horrific, the Supreme Court on Tuesday came down heavily on the West Bengal government over delay in filing first information report (FIR) in the matter.
Notice for ticket holders ahead of Durand Cup semis Kolkata
People from all walks of life -- former students of several educational institutions, clay modellers, rickshaw pullers and junior doctors -- separately hit the streets of Kolkata on Sunday in continued protest over the rape and murder of a medic in a state-run hospital a month ago.
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.
The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to transfer the rape and murder trial pertaining to a doctor in Kolkata outside West Bengal.
'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.'
'When we get justice we will stop the protest.'
The body of the woman post-graduate trainee, who was allegedly raped and murdered inside a seminar hall of the hospital, was found on Friday morning. A civic volunteer was arrested in this connection on Saturday.
Chief secretary Manoj Pant hoped "Good sense will prevail" as mutually agreed on Saturday that there will be no live-streaming or videography of the meeting given the matter is sub-judice before the Supreme Court.
According to the Federation of Resident Doctors Association, during the indefinite strike, all outpatient departments, operation theatres, and ward duties will be shut, but emergency services will continue to operate as usual, ensuring that urgent patient care remains unaffected.
"I came to meet you as your 'didi' not as the chief minister," she said.
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".
Speaking in the assembly after tabling the Aparajita Woman and Child Bill (West Bengal Criminal Laws and Amendment) Bill 2024, Banerjee said the Bill aims at quick investigation, fast justice delivery and enhanced punishment of the guilty.
The body of the post-graduate trainee doctor with severe injury marks was found on Friday inside the seminar hall of the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital's chest department. The preliminary autopsy report suggested she was subjected to violent sexual assault.
Long queues were seen at outpatient department ticket counters in government hospitals, where senior doctors joined their junior colleagues in the protest.
A nurse of a private hospital in Rudrapur has been allegedly raped and killed with her face crushed with a stone by the accused who dumped her body in a vacant plot in a Uttar Pradesh village near the Uttarakhand border, police said on Friday.
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.
Agitating junior doctors demanding justice for the deceased woman medic of the Kar Medical College and Hospital and workplace safety continued their hunger strike until death on Sunday in the central part of the Kolkata's Dharmatala area.
The respondents were from over 22 states with 85 percent of them being under 35 years while 61 percent were interns or postgraduate trainees.
The deputy chief minister called for the "strictest of strict" action against perpetrators of such crimes.
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 body of a woman post-graduate trainee who was allegedly raped and murdered inside a seminar hall of the hospital, was found on Friday morning. The civic volunteer was arrested on Saturday.
'If she manages to throw out people, go for surgical operations, clean up her image, she will be victorious.'
The Silchar Medical College and Hospital in Assam on Wednesday cancelled its advisory to women doctors and other staffers asking them to avoid going alone to isolated places at night.
Vishal Kaith's twin saves in the tiebreaker helped defending champions Mohun Bagan make a splendid comeback from two goals down to edge star-studded Bengaluru FC 4-3 (2-2 after full-time) to reach the Durand Cup final for a record 30th time in Kolkata on Tuesday.
He further commented on the current state of public discourse, saying a "mob rule" is being created wherein politicians capitalise on certain incidents and assure people of the death penalty for culprits even though only the judiciary has the power to pass legal verdicts.
In a rerun of the 'Reclaim the Night' campaign, hundreds of women took to the streets in Kolkata and other parts of West Bengal on Sunday night, demanding justice for the alleged rape and murder of a doctor in the state-run R G Kar Medical College and Hospital.
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.
Ruling parties held sway in most of the 13 states in the assembly byelection results declared on Saturday, with the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies wresting seats in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan and the Trinamool Congress sweeping West Bengal.
The cross-sectional survey was conducted among 1,566 healthcare workers from diverse medical institutions across India using a pre-tested, self-administered online questionnaire, which assessed various dimensions of workplace safety.
Two months after a junior doctor was brutally raped and killed, the doctors' protest in Kolkata rages on.
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.
Night patrolling on hospital premises and regulating access for people to key areas are among the measures the Centre has asked states to implement to ensure the safety of medics at workplaces, following Supreme Court orders in the rape-murder case of a junior doctor in Kolkata.
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