Doctors gift a 'spine' to Kolkata Commissioner, demand his resignation
A delegation of junior doctors in Kolkata brought a hand-made artificial spine to their meeting with Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Kumar Goyal on Tuesday at the city's Lalbazar police headquarters. This symbolic gesture was their way of urging the police to "grow a backbone." The meeting came after a two-day march by the doctors, who are demanding Goyal's resignation over his handling of a rape and murder case involving a trainee doctor from RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
Concerns over police investigation
Concerns about the integrity of the police investigation were raised during a hearing at the Calcutta High Court, which resulted in the case being transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation. The CBI later reported to the Supreme Court that there were indications of tampering at the crime scene by the time they took over. Following their meeting with Goyal, junior doctors called off their strike but vowed to continue protesting until a satisfactory conclusion is reached in this case.
Students put roses on the backbone during protest
What Commissioner Goyal said
Goyal acknowledged some shortcomings in the city police's handling of the matter during his meeting with the doctors. A member of the delegation quoted him as saying, "On our demand for his resignation taking moral responsibility, the Commissioner said although he is satisfied with his work, if the higher authorities decide to remove him, he will accept the decision."
'Lights will be switched off in doctor's memory'
"On September 4 [Wednesday], lights will be switched off in every home across the state for an hour in memory of the deceased doctor," he said. The body of an on-duty post-graduate trainee, who was raped and murdered, was found in the seminar room of state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9. Junior doctors have been protesting against the incident since that day.
