Bengal: Junior Docs Join Work After 41 Days But ‘Justice for Tilottama’ Movement Will go on

Kolkata: The protesting junior doctors called off their agitation three days ago, citing the flood situation in West Bengal. However, the prime reason for which the doctors were agitating for over 40 days, remains unsolved, as the CBI is still pondering over the rape and murder of a junior doctor inside the premises of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9.  The doctors even took out a huge rally to the CGO Complex in Salt Lake , where the CBI investigating team is posted and demanded speedy justice for  ‘Tilottama’ (as the deceased junior doctor is referred to by the protesters).

Incidentally, last Thursday, the Calcutta High Court had ordered the release of DYFI (Democratic Youth Federation of India) leader Kalatan Dasgupta, who was arrested by Kolkata Police for posting a “frivolous” audio clip.   

The junior doctors’ movement, however, has seen some success with the state government being forced to transfer the  Police Commissioner of Kolkata and DC North, as well as bringing changes in the health department and transferring two key officials of the health department .

 NewsClick spoke with Dr Fuad Halim, popularly known as the ‘Peoples Doctor’, who said that the current state of corruption was affecting medical students, teachers, medical staff, pos-graduate trainees, junior doctors and all those associated with the medical fraternity. 

Medical practitioners and all those associated with the medical system are trying to find a way out after the tragic RG Kar rape-murder incident, where corruption led to the murder of the trainee doctor, he said.

Dr Halim said the junior doctors’ movement had rightly demanded the removal of the director, medical education, and director of health services, “as corruption was being silently promoted by the highest level of the state’s medical establishment”.

He noted that the police administration, which started toeing the line of the corrupt health officials, were also removed after the protests. But, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, through these removals, has clearly chosen not to punish the police officials allegedly involved, he said. Rather, she said the outgoing Police Commissioner had been given his “preferred posting”.

Dr Halim alleged that the main issue behind the RG Kar rape-murder was corruption in health services, the deep nexus, which should be identified. The issue of giving proper services to patients should also be addressed with immediate effect, he added.

The way private stalls have sprung up in hospitals after paying a handsome amount to some local ruling party leaders needs to be mentioned too. It is the call of the hour to free hospitals from unscrupulous elements, he said, adding that the safety and security of the medical staff on campus and the fact that patients are treated in a safe hospital was of “optimum value.”

“Our take is that the medical system has taken a worse turn in the state, with rampant privatisation. The Swasthya Sathi card has led to the government paying the bills of private hospitals while services in government hospitals are deteriorating,” said Dr Halim.

He cited the recent incident of a city government hospital where about 20 patients were on the verge of losing their eyesight after fungus was detected in saline bottles.

“Also, the health statistics that the government used to publish have stopped after 2018. This has led to dearth of information in the government health sector. Even statistics, such as how many people are availing services of private hospitals under Swasthya Sathi card are not known. The health statistics should immediately be published.  We want free medical services in West Bengal,” Dr Halim said, while saluting spirit of the junior doctors.

“They fought eye-to-eye with the state's ruling ‘particracy’, whereby corruption has been indulged in like in other aspects of governance. They have shown a way out, which I feel should be replicated by the other professionals across the spectrum,” he added.

Sudeshna Roychoudhury, a nurse who also took part and led the "Reclaim the Night" movement by women, told NewsClick that the condition of medical fraternity was bad in the state, Being a nurse, she detailed how syndicates of corruption had grown in medical colleges across the state.

“One of them is the North Bengal lobby in health which practically controls these syndicates. Assisting these syndicates are government officials who fear for their jobs, as these syndicates hold immense political clout and are instrumental in punishment postings to medical staff who do not fall in line,” she alleged.

Roychoudhury said as a result of this ‘nexus’, doctors who wish to treat patients with care in state-run medical services are unable to do so. Instead, they are advised by these syndicate members to do solo practice at nearby nursing homes, get good clientele and handsome earnings, rather than complain about the government-run health system.  “They (the syndicates) are known for their close proximity with ruling TMC leaders and hold immense sway in Swasthya Bhawan, the headquarters of health services in the state,” she alleged.  

The nurse said that the spark of outrage after the brutal rape-murder of Tilottama had metamorphosed into a full-fledged fire, engulfing rampant corrupt practices in the state’s health services.

“You can now see how different suppliers paid for their (the syndicate doctors) sponsored trips abroad,” she said, adding that as the state health minister, the Chief Minister has adopted the tactics of being “not answerable’ tactics. Thousands of crores of rupees in the medical stream are being siphoned off by these syndicates across the state, she alleged.

Speaking with NewsClick, Mohd Salim, state secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), said: “from the very first day (of the rape-murder), we had said that this is not a case of simple rape and murder but the fallout of corruption and threat culture in the state’s medical fraternity.”

He said there had been “rampant cases of drug cartels, organ traders, suppliers taking part in the all-out rot of system and this was seen in RG Kar Medical College Hospital earlier also, where specific complaints against the Principal were lodged but there was no probe, as he was too close to the ruling party (TMC). After the murder, Left youths led by DYFI had to rush to RG Kar to stop the cortege of Tilottama from being taken away for the last rites. The haste shown by the those concerned in RG Kar Hospital and the ruling party in doing the last rites showed that all is not well and there are skeletons in the cupboard.”

Salim said the manner in which the body was disposed of and manner in which a civic volunteer was singularly held responsible for the crime by the Chief Minister showed that she was trying to bury the “larger conspiracy”.

He said the removal of the Police Commissioner and top brass at Swasthya Bhawan, was a level of victory for the junior doctors’ movement, “but the fight for justice will continue until justice is delivered in the case and all the guilty are brought under the purview of the investigation done by CBI under the Supreme Court’s monitoring.”

Rimita Sen, whose daughter is a 2nd year MBBS student at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, told NewsClick that she was scared of sending her daughter to the hospital. Earlier, too, her daughter used to say that the hospital was a nefarious place and wished to drop out from pursuing medical education at that hospital, she added.

While it is too early to say whether all those involved in the case will be apprehended by the CBI, people of the state are seeking many answers from the investigating agency. For one, the CBI has not yet approached all those who were present in the crime scene. The names are coming out in the media one by one.  The last such name was of Ashish Pandey, an intern and student leader (president of TMC s student wing in the hospital) who is now absconding. The CBI has not been able interrogate him even after knowing that he was allegedly present on the crime scene. 

The case lingers on as the CBI is taking its own time to reach conclusions. Till now, except the Tala police station OC Abhijit Mondal and RGK’s Principal Dr Sandip Ghosh and the civic volunteer, no significant arrests have been made. 

Maitreyi Bhattacharya, a homemaker and mother of a girl child, said if an “open and shut” case takes months for CBI to investigate, what will happen of complex crimes.

CBI has still not able to reconstruct the crime scene due to so many loose ends and the million-dollar question still remains unanswered – who all raped and killed Tilottama?