Accident victim dies at RG Kar Hospital where doctors are on strike; triggers row

The death of an accident victim at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, where junior doctors have been on a strike since August 9 demanding justice for the trainee doctor who was allegedly raped and murdered last month, has triggered a row.
The 26-year-old victim’s mother has blamed the doctors who are on strike in the hospital for her son’s death. The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) has also alleged that the victim Vikram Bhattacharjee didn’t get any medical treatment for three hours as doctors were on strike.
“He died in front of my eyes without any treatment. I never thought in my life that I would have to face this. He lost his two legs and withered in pain. There was so much bleeding. He underwent a lot of pain. The doctors may be protesting but because of that they wouldn’t treat a patient? What kind of justice is being demanded for that a mother is made to lose her son,” Kabita Bhattacharjee, told the media, as she cried inconsolably.
Abhishek Banerjee, TMC MP and the party’s national general secretary, said that it is tantamount to culpable homicide.
“A young boy from Konnagar lost his life today following a road accident, after BLEEDING FOR 3 HOURS WITHOUT RECEIVING MEDICAL ATTENTION, a consequence of the ongoing protest by doctors in response to the #RGKar incident. While the demands of the junior doctors are both fair and valid, I urge them to protest in a way that doesn’t disrupt essential medical services. Allowing a death due to PREVENTABLE NEGLECT is tantamount to CULPABLE HOMICIDE. If the protest has to continue, it should be done constructively, with empathy and humanity, ensuring no more lives are put at risk through inaction or neglect,” Banerjee wrote on X.
This comes days after West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee had urged the doctors to resume duty while adding that if the government lodged any FIR against a trainee doctor it would ruin his career.
“Many patients died because they couldn’t get proper care. We will not take any action against you, but I appeal to you to resume duty. The Supreme Court too appealed to junior doctors to join work. One must remember that the SC has given the power to the state government to take action. We haven’t taken action. If an FIR is registered against you, your future will be ruined. He or she won’t get a passport or visa,” Banerjee had said at a political rally on August 28.
The junior doctors, however, decided to continue the cease work and said that the chief minister’s statements related to lodging an FIR appeared to be a passive threat. Opposition too had upped their ante prompting Banerjee to issue clarification on social media the next day.
Top officials of the state health department had earlier said that at least nine persons have died in hospitals due to shortage of doctors over the past one month and more than 7,000 surgeries have bene held up.
The West Bengal government and the Kolkata Police have invited severe criticism for allegedly mishandling the investigation into the alleged rape and murder of the trainee doctor in the hospital. Even the Supreme Court reprimanded the West Bengal government stating that the conscience of the entire nation was shaken by the “horrific” and “horrendous” incident.
The court’s criticism centred around the significant delay in lodging the first information report (FIR), the allegation by the parents that the hospital first told them it was a suicide, and the vandalism that occurred at the hospital five days later, raising questions about the competence of the West Bengal police in safeguarding medical professionals.
Over the past few days, many TMC leaders, including legislators like Chandranath Sinha, Lovely Maitra and Udayan Guha launched scathing attacks against the protestors and opposition parties from political rallies triggering a political row.
“The TMC has lost its acceptance among the citizens. They are solely responsible for the situation today. West Bengal is facing such a crisis today because of the TMC’s greed and corruption,” said Samik Bhattacharya, BJP spokesperson.