Doctors join voice for rally in city, demand arrest of Jadavpur OC

Kolkata: Several doctors under the West Bengal Doctors Forum (WBDF) took out a rally on the city's streets, demanding the arrest of the officer-in-charge (OC) of Jadavpur police station, who had allegedly attacked a junior doctor at a private hospital at Ekbalpore.

WBDF had also threatened to carry out a bigger movement, if steps are not taken against the accused police officer. The members of the forum on Monday staged a sit-in demonstration in front of the Alipore police station after the police allegedly refused to take an FIR from the senior members of the forum in connection with the case.

Earlier in the day, the doctors took out a rally from outside the private hospital where the incident took place last Wednesday. According to the sources, the doctors of the WBDF have taken a decision to observe a cease-work as a token of protest at all the government and private hospitals alike, from 12 to 1 pm on Wednesday. The decision will be taken after a meeting conducted by the senior doctors of the forum in this regard.

A senior member of the organisation threatened to carry out a bigger movement if the accused doctor is not arrested. It may be mentioned that Srinivas Geddam, a post-graduate trainee at the private hospital in Ekbalpore, was allegedly roughed up by Jadavpur police station OC Pulak Kumar Dutta, when the former was attending to him last Wednesday.

Geddam, originally a resident of Andhra Pradesh, lodged a complaint with the police on Thursday. Following the incident, some doctors from the private hospital took part in a temporary cease-work. The matter was, however, settled after the accused police officer apologised to the victim.

"We may observe cease-work at both private and government hospitals except the emergency wards on Wednesday, as a token of protest. If the accused is not arrested, we may also call a strike after Wednesday," a senior official of the forum said.