Kolkata Doctor Rape-Murder Case : The hunger strike by junior doctors of West Bengal for their demands after the incident at Kolkata's RG Kar Hospital continued for the 10th day on Monday. Officials said that meanwhile the health of two more doctors deteriorated and one of them was admitted to the hospital. They said that Pulastha Acharya of NRS Medical College and Hospital was admitted to the hospital on Sunday night after suffering from severe stomach pain.

Tanya Panja of Kolkata Medical College's health deteriorated.

A senior doctor at NRS Medical College and Hospital said, "Pulastha is admitted to the Critical Care Unit (CCU) and his condition has deteriorated. We have constituted a medical board to treat him." Another junior doctor at Kolkata Medical College, Tanya Panja, also fell ill in the afternoon.

A protesting doctor said, "Her (Tanya's) condition is not good and she is currently under observation at the protest site. We have not yet decided if she needs to be hospitalized." Earlier, three junior doctors on strike in Kolkata and Siliguri City were hospitalized after their condition deteriorated.

Junior doctors took out a rally till Raj Bhavan.

Protesting junior doctors on Monday took out a rally here demanding a quick and transparent inquiry into the alleged rape and murder of a doctor at Kolkata's R G Kar Medical College and Hospital. The doctors took out the march from Dorina Square near Dharmatala in which people from various sections of society participated. These junior doctors have set up a stage at Dorina Square and some doctors have been on a fast there since October 5.

Debashish Haldar, a junior doctor, said, "We cannot accept what the CBI has said in its chargesheet that only one person was behind this crime. We demand a speedy and transparent investigation into the rape and murder of our sister at RG Kar Hospital." He said, "We are not going to Raj Bhavan to meet the governor and ask him to intervene, but we will give him our message." He said that the junior doctors are likely to submit a memorandum to the Governor's office.

The total number of doctors on hunger strike is 7

The total number of doctors on hunger strike now is seven, including a junior doctor from the ENT department of North Bengal Medical College who joined the strike this afternoon. The junior doctors also plan to take out a rally to Raj Bhavan to protest against the "slow pace" of the CBI probe into the RG Kar Hospital incident.

Junior doctor Debashish Halder said, "We have decided to take out this march because we feel that the CBI has not done its job properly. We will submit a memorandum to the Raj Bhavan after the march." Meanwhile, Chief Secretary Manoj Pant, in a letter to the 'Joint Platform of Doctors' (JPD) on Sunday, requested them to withdraw the proposed demonstration on October 15, saying that the state government's 'Durga Pujo Carnival' is to be organized on the same day.

He also invited the JPD for a meeting at Swasthya Bhavan on Monday afternoon to discuss their demands. In his email, Pant also urged the JPD to advise the junior doctors to end their hunger strike in their own interest and for their own health. In a statement on Monday, the JPD expressed "deep disappointment" at the state government's decision to hold the carnival at a time when "doctors and citizens are out on the streets demanding justice and a safe healthcare system."

It said, "The junior doctors have been on hunger strike for 10 days, three of them are now in the ICU, yet the government is giving priority to celebrations instead of paying attention to these serious problems." The statement said, "While respecting the constitutional right to celebrate, we do not demand the government to cancel the carnival. At the same time, we also insist on our right to peaceful, democratic demonstrations without disrupting the celebrations. It is disappointing that the government has asked us to withdraw the proposed demonstration on October 15, which is aimed at showing solidarity with the agitating junior doctors." The junior doctors are demanding justice for the deceased doctor in the rape and murder case at RG Kar Hospital, immediate removal of Health Secretary NS Nigam, safety at the workplace, and other measures.

Their other demands include setting up a centralized referral system for all hospitals and medical colleges in the state, implementing of a bed vacancy monitoring system, and setting up of a task force to ensure the installation of CCTV cameras at workplaces, on-call rooms, and necessary provisions for toilets. The hunger strike began on October 5 after a nearly 50-day 'work shutdown' in two phases. Their agitation began after an incident of alleged rape and murder of a trainee doctor posted on duty inside the government RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9.