The protest against the brutal rape and murder of a trainee doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital is a people’s movement, and neither the government nor the Supreme Court should forget this, the protesting junior doctors have stated. They have announced that their strike will continue until all their demands are met.

In a statement issued late on Monday night, the junior doctors of West Bengal affirmed that they will not return to work before the 5 PM deadline set by the Supreme Court during yesterday’s suo-motu hearing.

A spokesperson for the junior doctors at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, where the horrific incident occurred, expressed deep disappointment with the Supreme Court’s hearing.

“…the case has been transferred from the High Court to the Supreme Court, from the state police to the CBI. But justice is still out of reach,” the spokesperson said.

In their statement, the doctors further expressed their frustration, noting that no steps have been taken to ensure speedy justice for their colleague.

“We were expecting a positive outcome, considering the brutality of the offense. However, we are utterly disheartened by the proceedings of the court and the CBI. No action has been taken to expedite the trial and deliver justice to our colleague,” the statement said.

Earlier on Monday, the state government informed the Supreme Court that 23 people have died so far, allegedly due to the doctors’ strike, and that lakhs have been turned away from hospitals.

Referring to this, the doctors stated that it was shocking to see them being portrayed as responsible for those deaths.

“It was also shocking to note the way junior doctors were portrayed as responsible for a few deaths in hospitals. This is completely false, and in no hospital, has service been completely hampered due to the junior doctors’ movement,” the statement said.

The doctors have also reportedly demanded the resignation of the West Bengal Health Secretary and have threatened to march towards ‘Swasthya Bhavan,’ the health department’s office in Kolkata.

During Monday’s hearing, the Supreme Court observed that protests cannot come at the cost of life and warned the doctors of disciplinary action if they did not return to work by 5 PM today.

“If doctors do not resume work, then we cannot stop the state government from taking disciplinary action. We want to ensure that doctors resume work. They are part of a system to render service. We will provide facilities, but they have to reciprocate,” the top court has said.