Kolkata: Junior Doctor in Hunger Strike Hospitalized Due to Illness

Kolkata: A junior doctor, Anstup Mukherjee, who has been on a hunger strike in Kolkata, was hospitalized after complaining of abdominal pain. This protest has now entered its tenth day.

According to official sources, Mukherjee was admitted late Saturday night to the Critical Care Unit of Kolkata Medical College and Hospital, making him the third junior doctor to be hospitalized in the past 48 hours. Previously, Dr. Anikait Mehto and Dr. Alok Verma were also admitted to different hospitals.

The demonstration is a response to the alleged rape and murder of a 31-year-old female postgraduate trainee doctor. The protesting doctors have submitted a memorandum with ten demands, including severe punishment for those responsible for the doctor’s death and action against corruption in public hospitals. They are also calling for the resignation of the state’s Health Secretary, Narayan Swaroop Nigam.

Around 77 doctors from Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Hospital in Kalyani threatened on Sunday to resign collectively if the junior doctors’ demands are not met. Hundreds of senior doctors, faculty, and professors have signed resignation letters in solidarity with the junior doctors and have participated in symbolic hunger strikes with the protesters.

Meanwhile, the West Bengal government clarified that the “collective resignation” of senior doctors from various medical colleges and hospitals has no legal standing. Chief Advisor to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Alapan Bandyopadhyay, stated, “These collective resignations have no legal validity, as resignations must follow specific service rules.”

Additionally, doctors from four private hospitals in the city have threatened to withdraw non-essential services in support of the protesting junior doctors on Monday and Tuesday. They indicated that all non-emergency work, except for urgent cases, would be suspended during these two days, with further plans to be decided on October 15.