During the last hearing on September 9, a key document was found missing. The court had asked the West Bengal government’s counsel, Senior Advocate, Kapil Sibal to produce a document that is issued when a body is handed over for autopsy after the inquest. The state government had asked for more time.
Chief Justice said the document was important because it has a column that mentions what clothes and articles were sent along with the body. Justice JB Pardiwala had sought an explanation from the state government and added, “If this document is missing, then something is amiss.”
On September 9, the court had asked the protesting doctors to return to duty by the next day. The court had assured that no action would be taken against the protesting doctors if they joined duty by the deadline.
Junior doctors in Kolkata, however, refused to return to duty and continued their agitation. They said the government and the Supreme Court should not forget that this is a “people’s movement” and refused to join work till their demands were fulfilled.
What followed was a series of mail exchanges between the Mamata Banerjee government in Bengal and the junior doctors’ front. The doctors demanded justice for the victim in the rape-murder case and removal of top officials, including the Kolkata Police Commissioner.
After several meetings were called off over differences on whether the proceedings would be videographed, the Chief Minister and the doctors eventually met yesterday and discussed the protesters’ demands.
Following the meeting, Ms Banerjee announced late last night that they had agreed to most of the doctors’ demands. She said Kolkata police chief Vineet Goyal had agreed to resign and Deputy Commissioner of Police, North, Abhishek Gupta would also be removed. The state government has also agreed to remove two senior health department officials.
The junior doctors have said that the state government accepting their demands was a big victory for the agitation that enters its 39th day today. They have, however, said they would rejoin duty only when the government acts on its assurances.
Between the last Supreme Court hearing and this one, a big development is the CBI slapping evidence tampering charge on Dr Sandip Ghosh, former principal of the state-run college, and the arrest of Tala Police Station officer-in-charge Abhijit Mondal under the same charge.
A postgraduate trainee doctor was found dead in the seminar room of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on the morning of August 9. Medical examination confirmed rape. Sanjay Roy, a civic volunteer frequenting the hospital, has been arrested for the heinous crime. The incident shook the nation and sparked massive protests.
