The trainee doctors, however, said that they will not call off the protests till the officials are removed.
After holding high-stakes talks with protesting doctors, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that she has decided to remove two state health officials and the Kolkata Police Commissioner, along with another police official.
Addressing the public after the key meeting, the Bengal CM said that on Tuesday midnight, all the demands by the students could not be met but that she had decided to remove two top health officials from their roles.
The trainee doctors, however, said that they will not end the protests till officials who have been sacked are completely removed from their roles.
“We would like to inform everyone that, as our protests are ongoing at Swasthya Bhavan, we will discuss with our fellow college students, nursing students, and all others actively involved in the protests. Based on those discussions, we will decide our future course of action—whether to continue the protests or not. We have already informed the Chief Minister of this,” a trainee doctor, Dr Aniket Roy, said.
Meanwhile, Mamata Banerjee said she tried to address ‘99 percent’ of the demands put forth by the doctors on protest.
“They asked to remove three health officers, I have removed two. We accepted 99 percent (of their) demands. Would request them to rejoin work,” Banerjee said.
“As regards the health manpower, the present Director of Medical Education (DME) and Director of Health Services (DHS) will be transferred,” a transcript of the meeting said, confirming that the Director of Medical Education and Director of Health Services were removed from their roles.
Dr Kaustav Nayek is the DME, while Dr Debashish Halder is the DHS.
Another senior police official, Abhishek Gupta, who is the Deputy Commissioner Of Police (North), Kolkata, will be removed from his role later today.
The Bengal CM also said that a new police commissioner for the city will be appointed on Tuesday.
“New commissioner of Kolkata Police will be appointed on Tuesday. Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal did not wish to continue. We have decided to remove Kolkata Police’s deputy commissioner of north division (as well),” she said.
Trainee doctors on protest on Monday evening held a meeting with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee which lasted for over two hours.
The doctors had presented five key demands to the West Bengal government, seeking justice and reforms in healthcare.
Their demands included strict punishment for those involved in the rape and murder of a trainee doctor, alongside action against former RG Kar Medical College principal Sandip Ghosh.
They had also called for the resignation of Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal and Health Secretary Narayan Swaroop Nigam, improved security for healthcare workers, and the elimination of the ‘threat culture’ within government healthcare institutions.
The meeting was held after the doctors agreed to meet with the chief minister with two professional transcript writers from their side, who were taken to note down minutes of the meeting and share transcripts.
A police pilot vehicle carrying around 30 medics arrived at Banerjee’s residence at 6.20 pm. The meeting was originally scheduled at 5pm.
The meeting ended towards 8:45pm, lasting approximately over two hours.
Two Key Arrests
In their email, the junior doctors had highlighted two significant arrests, including that of Sandip Ghosh, linked to the case, and the officer in charge of Tala police station. Given these developments, they stressed the need for both parties to videotape the meeting or, if that is not feasible, for a complete video file to be provided to WBJDF representatives immediately after the meeting.
This invitation came as the junior doctors continue their protests against the brutal rape-murder that occurred in Kolkata on August 9, which has sparked nationwide outrage. The doctors have maintained their demands for justice and accountability while emphasising that they will not cease their strike until their five-point demands are met.
