Doctors protest against incident in Kolkata – The Hindu

Doctors and medical students stage a demonstration at Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital on Saturday. | Photo: A. SHAIKMOHIDEEN

Doctors and medical students stage a demonstration at the Government Medical College Hospital in Thoothukudi on Saturday. | Photo: N. RAJESH

Government doctors and private medical practitioners on Saturday condemned the sexual abuse and murder of a doctor in West Bengal and demanded speedy justice for the brutal killing of the doctor on duty.

Wearing black badges, doctors, junior doctors, residents and nurses of Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital staged a demonstration on the hospital premises between 7.30 am and 8.30 am. The protest, in which around 600 doctors participated, had no impact on outpatient treatment.

The protesters demanded that the central government and all state governments enact laws to punish assailants who attack doctors and hospitals. Those who sexually harass doctors should be punished with imprisonment up to death or the death penalty, they said.

The unrest had no negative impact on the treatment of the approximately 2,000 outpatients who came to the state hospital every day. Doctors also performed elective and emergency surgeries and treated inpatients.

At the Tenkasi district main hospital, around 600 doctors and nurses demonstrated between 8 and 9 a.m. and took part in a silent procession to express their condolences over the doctor's gruesome death. After the protest, they took care of the patients.

“As all private hospitals will remain closed on Saturday amid nationwide protests, patients have to go to health centres, government hospitals and government medical college hospitals. Therefore, we have kept adequate staff at all these places to ensure better medical care for them despite our protests,” said Rafiq of the Tamil Nadu Government Doctors' Association and professor at Tirunelveli Medical College.

Similar drives were organised at Thoothukudi Government Medical College Hospital and Kanniyakumari Government Medical College Hospital at Aasaaripallam in Nagercoil.