Kolkata murder case: Mamata Banerjee announced ₹2 lakh compensation for families of 29 deceased due to a junior doctors’ strike in West Bengal.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee announced on Friday that the state government will provide ₹2 lakh compensation to the families of 29 people who died, reportedly due to lack of treatment during the ongoing strike by junior doctors.
“It is sad and unfortunate that we have lost 29 precious lives due to disruption in health services because of long drawn cease work by junior doctors,” Banerjee wrote on X.
“In order to extend a helping hand to the bereaved families, State Government announces a token financial relief of Rs. 2 lakh to family members of each deceased person,” she added.
The junior doctors have been on strike since August 9, the day a postgraduate trainee doctor’s body was found in the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. As per the autopsy report, she was brutally raped and murdered.
Junior doctors continued their protest in the rain outside Swasthya Bhawan in Kolkata’s Salt Lake area.
Junior doctors appeal President Murmu, PM Modi to intervene
Junior doctors in Kolkata have written a four-page letter to President Droupadi Murmu, seeking her intervention in the murder and rape case.
The letter, written by the West Bengal Junior Doctors Front, was also sent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, vice president Jagdeep Dhankhar, and Union health minister JP Nadda.
“We humbly place the issues before your esteemed excellency, as the head of state, so that our unfortunate colleague who has been the victim of the most despicable crime shall receive justice, and so that we, the healthcare professionals under the West Bengal Health Department, may be able to discharge our duties to the public without fear and apprehension,” the letter read.
The doctors expressed that the President’s intervention would “be a beacon of light” during these difficult times. They said there is “atmosphere of fear and distrust,” which has forced them to avoid working in hospitals and seek alternative ways to provide healthcare services.
Ready to resign as CM: Mamata
The letter comes a day after chief minister Mamata Banerjee urged the protesting doctors to return to work, saying, “I am ready to resign as chief minister if needed. I want justice for the victim, but I am also concerned about the public getting medical services.”
