Agitating junior doctors on Monday evening withdrew their week-long hunger strike over the alleged rape and murder of a woman doctor at RG Kar Hospital, hours after a meeting with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

The doctors also called off their proposed strike in hospitals across the state on Tuesday. Agitating doctor Debashish Haldar said, "We got some assurances in today's meeting (with the chief minister), but the state government's attitude was not positive... the common people have wholeheartedly supported us. They and the parents of our deceased sister (victim of RG Kar Hospital) are requesting us to end the hunger strike given our deteriorating health."

"Therefore, we are withdrawing our 'fast unto death' and the call for a complete shutdown in the health sector on Tuesday," he said.

This decision was taken after a general meeting of doctors.

At present, a total of seven junior doctors are on hunger strike, seven of them at the stage at Esplanade in central Kolkata and one at the campus of North Bengal Medical College and Hospital at Siliguri in Darjeeling district. So far, the health of six junior doctors participating in the hunger strike, which began on the evening of October 5, has deteriorated so much that they had to be hospitalized.

10-point demands of protesting junior doctors

The most controversial demand among the 10-point demands of the protesting junior doctors is the removal of the state's health secretary Narayan Swaroop Nigam. However, during a phone conversation with the junior doctors, the Chief Minister clearly said that it would not be possible from his side to fulfill this demand.

Earlier on Sunday evening, members of civil society organizations joined junior doctors, who were agitating in support of their 10-point demands from the state government in the backdrop of the alleged rape and murder of a trainee doctor at West Bengal's R G Kar Medical College and Hospital on October 20.

The protesters are demanding justice for the deceased postgraduate trainee doctor.

Members of civil society organizations joined the rally carrying placards, lighting candles, and women blowing conches to show solidarity in support of the agitating doctors who are demanding justice for the deceased postgraduate trainee doctor.

Expressing sympathy with the demands of the junior doctors, several actors from the Bengali film and television industry, including Chaiti Ghoshal, Deblina Dutta, and Soumya Banerjee, observed a day-long hunger strike near the protest site.

Another protest meeting was organized with songs and poetry readings

Another protest meeting with street plays, songs, and poetry recitation was organized near the Lalit Kala Academy, about two kilometers from the junior doctors' protest site.

These are the demands of the protesting doctors.

The protesting doctors are demanding justice for their deceased colleague and the removal of the health secretary, besides setting up a centralized referral system for all hospitals and medical colleges in the state, setting up of a task force to ensure essential provisions like CCTV cameras at workplaces, on-call rooms, and washrooms.