Kolkata doctor rape case: CBI grills forensic experts, key medics’ body resumes strike — top updates

Amid the uproar and protest over the brutal rape and murder of a young female doctor at Kolkata's RG Kar hospital, a key doctors' organisation said that it had resumed its strike only two days after it decided to call it off. Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee assured that stringent action will be taken against the accused. Here are the top developments: 

• Speaking on the RG Kar rape and murder case, Mamata Banerjee said that the only punishment for this crime is the death penalty.
• She added that if the culprit is hanged, then only people will learn a lesson from it but no innocent should be punished. "This is a very big crime, and the only punishment for it is that the accused should be hung. If the culprit is hanged, then only people will learn a lesson from it but no innocent should be punished," the West Bengal CM said.
• Banerjee, however, alleged that the Left is in connivance with Ram (the Bharatiya Janata Party) to create unrest in West Bengal.
• "Left and Ram want to create unrest in Bengal and they both have come together to do this," she said while referring to the vandalism at RG Kar Hospital in Kolkata on Wednesday.
• "The people who vandalised RG Kar Hospital yesterday and created this ruckus are not connected to the student movement of RG Kar Medical College, 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 holding white and red flags," CM Banerjee said.
• Suhrita Pal, the newly appointed principal of the RG Kar Medical College, meanwhile, lost her cool over the ruckus created at the hospital and urged the people to trust her.
• Protesting doctors mounted pressure on the newly appointed principal, Suhrita Pal, to take action against the midnight mob attack and fulfil the demands of the medical students and doctors.
• Addressing the students, Pal said, "If you can't trust me for one hour then send me home also. I need one hour to do some official work. You need to believe me, I won't go. You have to believe me. If you can't believe me then don't expect anything from me."
• The Federation of Resident Doctors' Association (FORDA) on Thursday announced that they have resumed its strike to protest against the rape and murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata. The association had called off its strike on Tuesday.
• "We strongly condemn the Union Ministry and State Government for their failure to honour their commitments and ensure the safety of healthcare professionals during this crisis. Given the gravity of recent developments and the overwhelming call for justice, we have decided to resume the strike, effective immediately," FORDA said in a press release.
• Meanwhile, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday questioned three forensic doctors who conducted the post-mortem examination of the junior doctor who was brutally raped.
• Dr Arunava Dutta Chowdhury, who took charge as head of the chest department on August 1, and the hospital’s former superintendent, Dr Sanjay Vashisth, who was transferred immediately after the crime, were also questioned during the day at the CGO Complex in Salt Lake on the eastern outskirts of Kolkata, agency officials said, as reported by the Hindustan Times.
• Three forensic doctors, Rina Das, Molly Banerjee, and Apurba Biswas, who conducted the post-mortem, were also summoned to the CGO Complex and questioned for more than four hours, said officials.

(With inputs from agencies)