Doctors organise rally demanding Dr Saibal Jana’s release

The members of various voluntary organisations of doctors including Medical Service Center, Service Doctors Forum on Sunday organised a rally from College Square to Y channel to protest against the arrest of Dr Saibal Jana by the Chhattisgarh police. They demanded his unconditional release. Dr Ansuman Mitra, General Secretary of the West Bengal chapter of the Medical Service Center said that all over the country including the state of Chhattisgarh, BJP has taken the course of communal divisive politics. Common men and adivasis are the worst victims everywhere.

In this context, we can recall the unique workers movement led by renowned Trade union leader, Saheed Shankar Guha Neogi, in the districts of Chhattisgarh 

He led the foundation of Saheed Hospital for the welfare of poor workers and adivasis. Neogi was brutally murdered by the police-antisocial-proprietor clique in 1991 which gave birth to a strong protest movement. During a ‘rail roko’ movement in 1992, Cong government led police firing on the workers, killing 15 and seriously injuring more than 100 people. 

Dr. Saibal Jana of Shaheed Hospital came down to the street to save the injured. BJP led government has now framed false charges against Dr Jana, to arrest him without notice. “We stand by Dr Jana along with the civic society of the entire nation and protest the most autocratic and barbaric act of the Chhattisgarh government. We cannot forget that a doctor is duty bound to give service to the ailing people. The arrest of Dr Jana is an assault to medical ethics. We condemn the uncivilised activities of Chhattisgarh government on human rights, health rights. People are protesting to save democracy and Constitutional principles,” Dr Mitra said. Along with women rights activists, poor adivasi women are also indiscriminately tortured and sexually assaulted by the administration there. We demand to stop these nuisances immediately. We also call upon all the well meaning people who are attached to the health sector to voice their strongest protest also for immediate unconditional release of Dr. Saibal Jana and to revoke all false charges against him,” Dr Mitra added.