Kolkata doctor rape case: 12-hour Bengal bandh, nationwide protests planned, CBI grills fellow docs | 10 points

The Kolkata doctor murder-rape case has left people across the country foaming at the mouth after a postgraduate trainee doctor was allegedly raped and murdered on duty at RG Kar Medical College in West Bengal's capital city on August 9. Since then, the medical fraternity across the country has been protesting against the Mamata Banerjee government, with a 12-hour Bengal bandh organised by the Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) today. 

Kolkata doctor rape case: Here are top 10 updates

1) The Resident Doctors' Associations (RDAs) in Delhi have announced a joint protest march on August 16. The association stated that the march will commence at 2 pm from Nirman Bhavan in the national capital.

2) The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has declared a 24-hour nationwide strike by doctors practising modern medicine, beginning at 6 AM on Saturday, August 17, and continuing until 6 am on Sunday, August 18.

3) Over 1,000 doctors from private and government hospitals in Goa will refrain from providing outpatient department (OPD) services for 24 hours starting the morning of August 17.

4) Healthcare services at the state-run SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack were disrupted on Thursday as students staged a cease-work protest against the rape and murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata. Wearing black badges, the students held a sit-in on campus, impacting services in the OPD, OT, and laboratories.

5) The Bharatiya Janata Party Mahila Morcha will hold silent candle marches across all district headquarters on the evening of August 16, 2024, in protest against the rape and murder of a female doctor in West Bengal.

6) The Federation of Resident Doctors' Association (FORDA) announced on Thursday it will resume its strike protesting the rape and murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata.

7) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday accused the Left of collaborating with the BJP (referred to as "Ram") to stir unrest in the state.

8) “Left and Ram want to create unrest in Bengal and they both have come together to do this. The people who vandalised RG Kar Hospital and created this ruckus are not connected to the student movement of RG Kar Medical College…," she said.

9) “…they are outsiders, I have seen as many videos, I have three videos as I can see, in which some people are holding national flags, they are BJP people, and some are DYFI are holding white and red flags," Banerjee added.

10) The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Special Crime Branch in Kolkata on Thursday summoned five doctors and hospital staff for questioning in connection with the RG Kar Hospital rape and murder case.

(With inputs from agencies)