City Kolkata Financial News

doctors' strike is on in the national capital with Sunday marking a week of the indefinite protest over the rape and murder of a medic in Kolkata, causing disruption of services and affecting patients. In the action plan for Sunday, members of the Delhi resident doctors' association (RDA) have decided to take out a candle march outside Gate 1 of Rajiv Chowk Metro Station at 6 pm. «As approved in today's general body meeting, residents from all medical colleges and institutions in Delhi will gather for a candle march protest in Connaught Place,» a statement from the GTB Hospital RDA read. «We will assemble in groups of 3-4 at Gate No. 1, Rajiv Chowk Metro Station, form a human chain, and light candles at the inner circle to raise awareness about the tragic incident at RG Kar Medical College, Kolkata,» it added.

CBI are looking into the call details and chats of former principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Sandip Ghosh, in connection with their probe into the rape and murder of a woman doctor. Ghosh, who appeared before the CBI officers on the third consecutive day on Sunday, was asked to furnish details of the phone calls he made before, and after the incident at the hospital, an officer of the central probe agency said. The sleuths are also mulling contacting the mobile phone service provider to get the details of Ghosh's phone calls and data consumption, he added. The former principal, who was grilled by the agency's officers for over 13 hours from Saturday till past midnight, reached the CBI office at CGO Complex in Salt Lake at 11 am on Sunday.

resident doctor at Mumbai's Sion Hospital was reportedly physically assaulted by a group of intoxicated attendants, as per Mirror Now. This incident comes even as protests rage on across the country over a rape-murder case in Kolkata. ETOnline could not verify this report independently. «The patient arrived in casualty after midnight in an intoxicated state with 7-8 relatives. He was involved in an assault before he came to the hospital, and had injury marks on his face… Owing to his injuries, he was given an ENT reference around 3:30 am. Our on-call resident doctor in the ENT department was a female. Following a routine procedure, she undressed the wounds to examine them. That is when the patient started verbally abusing her,» Dr Akshya More, General Secretary of Sion-MARD and BMC-MARD told ANI.

From a batch of MBBS students who had seen Covid pandemic break out as they learnt their craft, she had chosen respiratory medicine as her specialisation. At RG Kar, the campus she called her «second home», she immersed herself in patient management, the report said further. On August 9, after a shift and study cycle that stretched for 36 hours without a break, she had dozed off on a platform in the college's seminar room when she was sexually assaulted by one or more individuals (still the subject of a probe), and murdered in an attack of depraved brutality. Interns and fellow postgraduate trainees who had come to the seminar room the next morning found her body. Her laptop, a notebook & cellphone lay intact beside it.

RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, the Kolkata Police have imposed Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (formerly Section 144 of the CrPC), around the Medical College and Hospital for seven days, effective from Sunday, 18 August. In an order released on Saturday by the Commissioner of Police, Vineet Kumar Goyal, it was stated that rallies, meetings, processions, dharnas, demonstrations, and the unlawful assembly of five or more persons are prohibited in the specified area of Kolkata. "...In exercise of the power conferred by Sub-Section (1) of Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, read with Sub-Section (3) of the said Section, I, Vineet Kumar Goyal, Commissioner of Police, Kolkata, being an Executive Magistrate for the Metropolitan area of Kolkata as well as the district of South 24 Parganas (within the limits of the suburbs of Kolkata falling under Kolkata police jurisdiction), do hereby prohibit, for a period of seven (7) days from 18.08.2024 to 24.08.2024, or until further notice, any unlawful assembly of five (5) or more persons, carrying of lathis, any lethal or other dangerous weapons, or the commission of any act likely to cause a breach of peace and disturbance of public tranquillity within the specified area in the town of Kolkata," the order stated.

West Bengal Health and Family Welfare Department has rescinded the transfer orders of 42 doctors amid the ongoing outrage and protests following the rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on Saturday. Speaking at a press conference, the Principal Secretary of the WB Health and Family Welfare Department, Narayan Swaroop Nigam, stated, «Considering the current situation, we need to maintain normal services across the board. Therefore, we have decided to cancel these transfer orders for now. Any further decisions regarding this matter will be made in a few days.» He explained that the transfer process is part of the promotional exercise within the Medical Education Service, a lengthy procedure that began two months ago.

Union Home Ministry has asked all state police forces to provide it situation reports every two hours in the wake of protests by doctors, nursing staff and others against the alleged rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. In a communication to the state police forces, the home ministry said that the law and order situation of all states should be monitored in view of the protests. «Henceforth, a continuous two-hourly law and order situation report in this regard may kindly be sent to the MHA control room (New Delhi) by Fax/ Email/ WhatsApp from 1600 hours today,» the communication sent on Friday said. On August 9, a postgraduate trainee doctor was allegedly raped and murdered while on duty at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. A civic volunteer of Kolkata Police was arrested in connection with the crime the next day. The Calcutta High Court handed over the case to the CBI on Tuesday.

Kolkata: The West Bengal government announced a slew of measures to ensure the safety of women in workplaces, particularly at state-run hospitals, where they have to work on night shifts, too, including designated retiring rooms and CCTV-monitored 'safe zones'. Chief Advisor to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Alapan Bandyopadhyay, announced the measures during a press meet here on Saturday, amid continuing protests by doctors across the state against the alleged rape and murder of a medic at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. Apart from hospitals and medical colleges, hostels and other places engaging women during night shifts will now come under the ambit of a flagship programme 'Rattirer Sathi — Helpers of the Night', comprising volunteers, he said. The state government has also decided to develop a mobile application with alarm devices, which can be downloaded by women and used for communication with the respective local police stations in case of any emergency.

resident doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, Asha Devi, the mother of Nirbhaya, described the incident as «the most unfortunate thing that has happened.» She criticised the ongoing political blame game, stating that «governments are accusing each other and holding protests instead of focusing on the case, women's safety, and addressing shortcomings in the law.» In a video message, Asha Devi criticised the West Bengal Chief Minister, questioning why she was protesting and demanding capital punishment despite having authority over the health ministry, police, and the legal system.

Kolkata doctor rape case LIVE updates: Following the IMA's call for a nationwide protest after the rape of a PG resident at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital shook the country, several inconsistencies have been flagged by the victim's family. They hinted to the probing agency CBI that the interns and other residents might have been involved in the case too.

West Bengal administration has proceeded with the horrific case. Last Friday, when Di's body was discovered, authorities of Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College & Hospital tried to pass off the murder as suicide to the victim's family. The police initially did the same. After all, why on Earth would a state-affiliated institution's authorities lie? Trying to pass off homicide as suicide is SOP if you want to put a lid on things. Self-sexual assault — self-rape — is, however, far more difficult to spin. So, a case of rape-murder it has officially become.

West Bengal and across the country on Saturday started a 24-hour nationwide strike to protest the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at the government-run RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata last week. The protest was called by the Indian Medical Association (IMA), the largest organisation of medical staff in the country, which has placed five demands including justice for the victim, a central law to protect healthcare workers from violence at workplaces, and a thorough overhaul of the working and living conditions of resident doctors. The West Bengal government, meanwhile, issued detailed guidelines and measures to be taken at hospitals, medical colleges and all workplaces for women across the state with the aim to provide safe working conditions, and launched a flagship programme, 'Rattirer Shaathi' (Helpers of night).

Is it pasta-de Nadal — a pasta liked by the tennis maestro? I started reading the phrase 'Pastel de Nata' in a couple of British food columns. I still wasn't paying attention, so I continued to think this PdN was a) Spanish, b) a savoury. Then I read some descriptions that identified it as 'a sweedish item', as my school mess manager used to call desserts and puddings. Finally, I understood that this 'Swedish' item was Portuguese. Last year in Oxford, I saw something called a pasteleria — Portuguese for bakery — had opened, and there was a long queue outside. Walking past it one day, I saw the queue wasn't there so I leapt in. 'Hi, can I please have one of those...?'

interrogation of former principal of RG Kar Medical College & Hospital Sandip Ghosh for the second day on Saturday, in connection with the death of a post-graduate medical trainee who was allegedly raped and murdered. CBI that took over the investigation questioned Ghosh on Friday for over 10 hours till midnight, and again called him Saturday morning for interrogation. While entering the CBI office Saturday, Ghosh said: «I have not been arrested. I am being interrogated by the CBI officials. They are behaving very nicely with me.»

psychological assessment of Sanjay Roy, the accused in the rape and murder case of a doctor in Kolkata, officials told PTI. Psychological and behavioral specialists from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) have arrived in Kolkata for the assessment. The CBI has already taken Roy into custody and is actively investigating the case. Dr. Sandip Ghosh, the former principal of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, is being questioned by the CBI for a second consecutive day in connection with the incident. The questioning of Ghosh began on Friday and continued till early Saturday morning around 1:40 AM. The case revolves around the tragic death of a 31-year-old postgraduate trainee doctor, who was allegedly raped and murdered inside a seminar hall at the state-run hospital. Her body was discovered on August 9. Sanjay Roy, a civic volunteer, has been arrested in relation to the case.

doctors' strike over the alleged rape and killing of one of their colleagues in a Kolkata hospital is gaining momentum as major private hospitals in Delhi joined the protest on Friday, shutting down their OPDs, elective surgeries and IPD services. Resident doctors in the capital have been on an indefinite strike since Monday. As the strike entered its sixth day on Friday, private hospitals also joined the protest alongside government hospitals. Hospitals like Sir Ganga Ram, Fortis and Apollo have halted their OPD, elective surgeries and IPD services. Dr Ajay Swaroop, chairman of the Board of Management at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, said, «We have declared a complete shutdown of OPD, elective OTs and IPD work. Unfortunately, I believe that protests and discontinuation of duties have now become necessary to pressure the authorities and expedite the investigation process, so that justice is not delayed.»

Healthcare services in Gujarat were affected as doctors from government and private hospitals took to the streets on Saturday amid the 24-hour nationwide protest over the rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor at a Kolkata medical college. Doctors stayed away from the outpatient departments (OPDs) and did not conduct elective surgeries in several hospitals across the state as part of a strike call given by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) and Gujarat Junior Doctors' Association. Doctors held protest gatherings and took out rallies, shouting slogans demanding justice for the woman doctor who was brutally raped and murdered at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on August 9. Dr Mona Desai, a former president of the IMA's Ahmedabad chapter, led a delegation of protesting doctors and submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel in the state capital Gandhinagar.

‘I am bored’ need not make parents recoil in horror Take, for instance, the Arthshila centres, run by the Takshila Foundation, which is helmed by the father-daughter duo of Sanjiv Kumar and Setika Singh. Envisaged as an immersive platform for artistic expression and creative experiences for people of all age groups, Arthshila has centres in Ahmedabad and Santiniketan, launched in 2021 and 2022, respectively, besides one other in Delhi, which was launched in January. These are open spaces, with curated programmes across disciplines, that hope to democratise art.

Dhaka University in Bangladesh held a protest in solidarity with ongoing demonstrations over the rape and murder of a woman trainee doctor at R G Kar Medical College in Kolkata in the neighbouring country. The protest, organised under the banner «Awaaz Tolo Nari» (Raise Your Voice, Women), on Friday, took place at the Raju Sculpture in Dhaka University, Dhaka Tribune newspaper reported. «We are aware of the non-cooperative attitude of the medical college administration regarding the rape case in Upper Bengal. As women, we demand that the administration provide maximum legal assistance, strictly enforce the law, and announce the verdict promptly,» Dhaka Tribune quoted Rahnuma Ahmed Niret, a student from the Department of Physics, as saying at the event. Anya Fahmin, a student of the Department of Anthropology, added: «Women worldwide face rape, and we fully support the ongoing movement for fair accountability in the RG Kar Hospital case in Kolkata. Additionally, we call for a public trial of the rape and murder case of Sohagi Jahan Tonu in Comilla. The general public has a right to know, especially when the army is involved. The government must ensure a safe country for women through the mass uprising of student communities.»

Moreover, the Ministry requested the agitating doctors to resume their duties in the larger public interest and in view of the rising cases of Dengue and Malaria. «The representatives of Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA), Indian Medical Association (IMA) and Resident Doctors’ Associations of Governmental Medical Colleges & Hospitals of Delhi met the Ministry in the aftermath of the incident against a resident doctor in RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata.»

A survey conducted by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) puts a number to the alarming extent of stress and fear among doctors. According to the survey, 82.7% of doctors experience significant stress in their profession, 62.8% fear violence and 46.3% identify violence as a major source of their stress. These figures illustrate the growing concern regarding the safety and well-being of medical professionals, reported ToI. «The present Bill not only merely focuses on punishment but also addresses the other parameters which lead to violence. It will ensure that all the healthcare service personnel have the right to work in a safe and secure work place which is free of violence and also secure the rights of patients,» said the official document.