Junior doctors in the Indian state of West Bengal vowed Tuesday to continue a strike in protest over the rape and murder of a junior doctor unless their demands are met, violating a Supreme Court deadline.
Hundreds of doctors are demanding better security in hospitals and justice for the woman, who was found dead on August 9 in a classroom at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, the state capital.
The West Bengal Young Doctors Front said it would “consider” the court order only if its demands were addressed before the deadline.
“Otherwise, we will understand that the government does not want to end this deadlock,” the group, which represents some 7,000 doctors in the state, said in a statement on Monday.
“In that case, we will hold the government responsible for the situation that arises throughout the state.”
The demands include better security measures, from adequate security personnel and closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras to proper patient services at government hospitals and the dismissal of the city's police chief.
“We have not seen a single CCTV camera installed after the incident,” said Dr Shubhendu Malik, spokesperson for junior doctors at RG Kar Hospital. “There are no separate toilets or bathrooms for men and women.”
On Monday, the Supreme Court, which took up the matter in the wake of national outrage over the incident, said the doctors had until the next day to return to work, or they could face “adverse action.”
Protests over the incident spread abroad over the weekend, with thousands of Indians staging demonstrations in 25 countries, including the United States and Japan, to demand justice for the woman.
Human rights activists say the attack provides further evidence of the sexual violence faced by Indian women despite tougher laws introduced after a horrific gang rape and murder incident in the capital New Delhi in 2012.
A police volunteer has been arrested for the crime and the former director of the university has been arrested on corruption charges.
