In a significant development in the horrific rape and murder of a young female doctor in Kolkata, four junior doctors who had dined with the victim on the night of the crime have been summoned for questioning. The summons comes as part of the ongoing investigation into the case that has shocked the city and triggered widespread outrage.
On Tuesday, at the Kolkata Police headquarters in Lalbazar, the police summoned in a head of department, an assistant super, male and female nurses, group-D employees, and security personnel. Junior doctors, in protest, who have been calling for a magistrate's investigation into the female doctor's death, gave the Kolkata Police till August 14 to finish their investigation.
Junior doctors in West Bengal kept up their strike on Tuesday in protest of the female doctor's rape and death, demanding justice for her. Long patient lines were observed at all government hospitals' out-patient departments (OPDs) starting early on Tuesday morning due to the strike. Senior doctors were filling in for their junior counterparts to handle the demand.
Junior doctors handled emergency cases until Sunday, but they stopped working altogether on Monday. To manage the surge of patients, primarily in the OPDs, the Bengal government has canceled the leaves of all senior doctors.
Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of West Bengal, visited the parents of the deceased on Monday and gave Kolkata Police till August 18 to solve the crime. If they fail to do so, she will turn the case over to the Central Bureau of Investigation.