Kolkata Medical College rape: Protests erupt across India

New Delhi- After the alleged rape and murder of a postgraduate student at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, the country's other cities witnessed protests and demonstrations by doctors demanding justice.

Junior doctors and a house staff member of the hospital were summoned by the Kolkata Police and taken into custody. The principal of the hospital, Sandip Ghosh, resigned on Monday morning after the junior doctors staged a widespread demonstration and threatened to shut down the hospital if their demands were not met.

The demands of the junior doctors included handing the case over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), setting up a fast-track court, and forming a committee to implement the Central Protection Act in all hospitals. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Monday that she would consider transferring the case to the CBI if the Kolkata police were unable to make significant progress in the investigation.

"The day I got to know about the incident from the Kolkata Police Commissioner, I told him that it is a sad incident and immediate action should be taken and a fast-track court should also be set up immediately," Banerjee said.

"The police, the dog squad, the forensic department and other teams are on the job. If the police are unable to solve this case by Sunday, we will hand it over to CBI."

The protests were taken out by the Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA). According to FORDA General Secretary Sarvesh Pandey, approximately 300,000 doctors across the country will join the strike, including more.

FORDA India President Dr. Aviral Mathur said, "We issued a notice for a nationwide strike and demanded several measures. We will call off the strike once our demands are addressed. We do not want patients to suffer, so emergency services will continue. We are in constant touch with the ministry and have full faith that our demands will be fulfilled."