Kolkata doctor rape-murder case: Centre tells hospitals to file case in 6 hours of violence against doctors. Other top 10 developments

Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Derek O'Brien on Friday said that West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee will organise a rally against the horrific rape and murder of a 31-year-old trainee doctor that took place on Friday at the seminar hall of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

Banerjee said that the TMC will launch a rally on August 17 from Moulali to Dharmtala to demand justice for the trainee doctor who was brutally raped and murdered. The TMC MP said on his X handle that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) must give daily updates on the probe. He also asked the central agency to adhere to the Chief Minister's Saturday deadline.

"The CBI taking over the case shouldn't lead to it being quietly buried. The urgent need of the hour is swift justice and the harshest punishment for the culprits. No one who committed this barbaric act must be spared," O'Brien said. 

Meanwhile, Suhrita Pal, the new principal of the state-run hospital, on Thursday lost her cool while interacting with the students. Pal was appointed as the principal of the college after Sandip Ghosh's resignation.

Retorting to the students' demands, Pal said: "If you can't trust me for one hour then send me home also." Hours after Ghosh resigned, he was appointed to an even more plum posting -- Principal of the Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital -- with immediate effect. 

Meanwhile, non-essential services including routine OPDs and elective surgeries will remain shut for 24 hours from 6 am on August 17 to 6 am on August 18, as per the Indian Medical Association (IMA). All Resident Doctors' Associations (RDAs) across Delhi will conduct a joint protest march starting at 2 pm on Friday at the Nirman Bhavan. 

Moreover, a mob vandalised the emergency, staffers' room, changing room for nurses and medicine store, as per the state health department. In this vandalism, almost all the CCTV cameras were broken and a portion of the seminar hall, where the horrific crime allegedly took place was also damaged. 

Top developments in the case so far 

1. The Centre has directed all hospitals to file a case within 6 hours in case of violence against doctors. The Union Health Ministry also said in a memo that the sole responsibility of filing the FIR lies with the head of the healthcare institutions.
2. The Kolkata Police has arrested 5 more individuals in the vandalism at RG Kar Hospital, taking the total number of arrests to 24. The CBI team has submitted a copy of its FIR in the case before the Calcutta High Court. 
3. Sandip Ghosh, former principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, approached the Calcutta High Court seeking protection. Ghosh claimed that his life is under threat. 
4. The High Court has asked the state government to provide Ghosh with police protection. The court also asked his counsel to file a separate affidavit is anything else needs to be mentioned or any other claims exist. 
5. Earlier, the Calcutta High Court attacked the state government and Kolkata Police over the mob attack and vandalism that took place at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 14, a day before Independence Day. 
6. Calling it an "absolute failure of the state machinery", the court questioned as to how can doctors work without fear when cops themselves are running away from the mobs. 
7. The Medical Student Association of Government Medical College  in Punjab's Amritsar has announced the suspension of all non-essential and elective hospital services including OPDs, OTs and wards, from August 16 till further notice in solidarity with the victim of the Kolkata rape and murder case.
8. The CBI has summoned 8 doctors and other medical staff from the hospital for questioning in the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital rape and murder case. The CBI took over the probe from the Kolkata Police on the direction of the Calcutta High Court. 
9. The Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) called for a 12-hour-strike across the state today and the Jadavpur University Teachers' Association also called for a day-long cease-work today to protest against the incident. 
10. On August 9, the body of a 31-year-old trainee doctor was found in the seminar hall of the hospital. Sanjay Roy, a civic volunteer linked to the Kolkata Police, has been arrested in connection with the case.