Three senior resident doctors, who led the protests following the heinous rape and murder of a doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in August of last year have accused the government of politically inclined retaliatory last minute postings to remote districts with no prior vacancies. Dr. Debashis Haldar, Dr. Aniket Mahata, and Dr. Asfaqullah Naya claim their reassignments to hospitals in Malda, Raiganj and Purulia respectively were abrupt, punitive, violating transparent counseling norms. A senior official has claimed that assignments are a right reserved by the government and that any and all problems should be taken up with them not hospital authorities.Â
The doctors, initially assigned to urban centers like Howrah, Hooghly, and Kolkata during final counseling were reassigned to remote facilities. Dr Haldar was moved to Gajole in Malda, a hospital reportedly without vacancies during initial allocations. He is a senior resident at Calcutta Medical College and Hospital. Dr Mahato, originally posted at RG Kar, was assigned to Raiganj Medical College, and Dr Nayak’s Hooghly posting was changed to Purulia. The trio, supported by the West Bengal Doctors Forum (WBDF), alleges these transfers punish their activism, which exposed systemic healthcare issues and demanded justice for the RG Kar victim. Dr Halder has revealed these counsellings are usually merit based and that he has no problem serving at remoge locations, however the sudden manner in which these locations were changed has become a bone of contention.
Junior doctors have staged sit-ins at Swasthya Bhavan, seeking answers from health secretary N S Nigam, who left without responding. WBDF President Dr Koushik Chaki, in an email to the health secretary, has strongly objected to the sudden change in postings.
