West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met with the agitating junior doctors and agreed to three of their demands. The meeting late last night was a decisive step towards an end to the 38-day-long stalemate. The high-profile demands accepted included sending two top health department officials on long leave and the Chief of Kolkata Police. The city’s north zone police chief, where RG Kar Medical College falls, will also be relieved of his duty. It is the same hospital where a young doctor was raped and killed brutally on Saturday night, an incident which sparked off the protests.

Even though the strike has been reported to be quite successful, the junior doctors insist that more protests and cease work will continue until formal orders are issued regarding the implemented changes. This verbal assurance from the state is a great victory according to the doctors; however, they believe that until the government delivers on its promises, the doctors will not return to work.

Protest Will Continue Till Formal Orders
The atmosphere over the protest site was jubilant following the meeting. Doctors declared this a “big victory” for their movement but clarified that protests would not end until the state government issues formal orders. “We got verbal assurance, but action follows,” noted a Junior Doctors’ Forum representative. They also reiterated their continued demand for sacking of the health secretary and raze the network of corruption in hospitals.

State Government’s Assurance To Doctors
In the meeting, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee assured that most of the demands of doctors have been accepted. The state has sanctioned Rs 100 crore for the upgradation of hospital infrastructure, another key demand raised by doctors. Speaking to, regarding the removal of the Director of Medical Education and the Director of Health Services, Banerjee said that both officials are being transferred to other jobs. They were not by any means accused of any wrongdoing, but the government has still decided to transfer them because the doctors do not have trust in them.

Banerjee also declared that the Kolkata police chief, Vineet Goyal, will continue in his position at least till Durga Puja. He has faced several solicitations for his resignation; however, the Chief Minister wanted him to stay at least for now. His removal, however, is conditioned by allegations of police doctoring evidence with regard to the case of the gang-rape and murder of a young doctor.

Expose Of The Gang Rape-Murder of the Young Doctor
The protest had begun after a 31-year-old young doctor had been gang-raped and murdered at RG Kar Medical College on August 9. The body was found the next morning in the seminar room of the hospital. Sanjoy Roy, a civic volunteer with the Kolkata Police, is found to be the main culprit in the matter. He was at the hospital and was given easy access to all departments of the college. Now, however, the investigation raises questions, misleading information that was passed on to the doctor’s parents, and allegations of forced cremation on the part of the police.

The courts have constantly slammed how the case has been dealt with. The Supreme Court and the Calcutta High Court have made their voices heard on police handling, especially in respect of tampering with evidence. The case is being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which last week arrested the ex-principal of the hospital, Sandip Ghosh, and a senior local police officer. Ghosh has also faced charges in a parallel corruption case relating to the hospital.

The Final And Fifth Invitation To Talks
The state government had termed the meeting as the “fifth and final invitation for talks”. After two failed attempts at negotiations, the junior doctors resisted negotiations. But 30 doctors eventually turned up to meet Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the Chief Minister’s home. The scheduled time of the meeting was 5 pm, but it started only at 7 pm and took two hours. Then there was an additional 2.5 hours for finalizing the minutes.

The minutes of the meeting which were taken down by their stenographers took to doctors and government representatives signatures for 40 doctors.

The doctors’ breakthrough has insisted that the government issue formal orders till their protests continue. National Support to Protests

The protest, which started in Kolkata, soon spread across the country, with doctors from many states coming together in support. The state of West Bengal continued protests even after an order by the Supreme Court asking doctors to resume work. Protesting doctors feel that unless this state government takes serious steps, there is little scope for them to return to patient care work, which has been severely affected by the cease work.