Doctors in Maharashtra tie Rakhis to policemen

The indefinite strike by junior doctors in Maharashtra over the Kolkata rape and murder continues. Their association on Sunday demanded that all government medical colleges and hospitals be declared containment zones and that the central health protection law be implemented.

The Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD), which has been leading the strike since August 13, said doctors would handcuff rakhis to government officials, college administrations, police, security personnel, nurses and healthcare workers on Monday as part of the ongoing protests.

Amid growing outrage over the alleged rape and murder of a doctor in Kolkata, the Supreme Court has taken cognizance of the case on its own initiative and will hear it on August 20, even as junior doctors in some states, including West Bengal and Delhi, stayed away from duty on Sunday, disrupting medical services.

In Kolkata, Sandip Ghosh, former principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, appeared before the CBI for the third consecutive day and was asked to disclose details of the phone conversations he had before and after the incident at the hospital, an official of the central investigation agency said.