Junior doctors and medical students light candles to pay homage to the woman medic, demanding justice for her alleged rape-murder at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, in Kolkata. File.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Four months after the gruesome rape and murder of the 31-year-old doctor inside the R.G. Kar hospital in Kolkata, the West Bengal Doctors’ Forum (WBDF) launched the Abhaya Scholarship programme to honour the victim’s legacy.
WBDF members said that in the initial stage, the programme will provide annual scholarships to five meritorious MBBS entrant students, and five students who have passed Class 10. The organisers said they will take suggestions from different stakeholders and improve the scope of this programme.
Also read | How Kolkata grew its spine over R.G. Kar rape and murder protests
Arjun Dasgupta, a leading ENT specialist from West Bengal who is also part of the forum and was at the scholarship launch, told The Hindu, “Justice for Abhaya is a long-drawn process, but we want to keep her name alive throughout the time. In the process if we can help a few students along the way that would be a positive outcome. Of course, they have to be medical students, but we also want to extend the scholarship to others where there is need.”
Dr. Dasgupta said that he along with all other members of the forum have spoken to the parents of the victim about the scholarship. “Once the legal case is over and we are not bound by law to not use the victim’s name, we want to rename the scholarship on the victim’s real name and not ‘Abhaya’. This will help keep her memory alive. That is only if her parents allow.”
Scholarships will be awarded based on socioeconomic criteria, following a selection process overseen by a committee comprising WBDF members and other individuals, including academics. Any recommendations that the committee comes up with, the forum will try to implement over the years if finances permit.
As one of the organisers, Dr. Dasgupta said that if their finances become sustainable in the longer run, they would offer this scholarship at every medical college in West Bengal to ease the financial burden of going through a medical school. He pointed out that medical equipment can be very expensive even in a government medical facility with subsidies.
Doctors fined
Recently, the West Bengal government slapped a ₹20 lakh fine on 31 post-graduate senior resident doctors for their failure to serve at rural hospitals. It is a part of a three-year bond of all post-graduate doctors that they have to serve one year in medical colleges and two years in district and rural hospitals. Alleged failure to comply led to this fine.
In response to the fine, the WBDF members also said they are “deeply” concerned about the recent fines levied on senior resident doctors by the government.
Their statement said, “This directive not only undermines their professional contributions but also disregards the critical importance of allowing these doctors to continue their academic and professional growth in hospitals equipped with appropriate facilities. We urge the state government to reconsider this punitive measure, which discourages young doctors from pursuing advanced medical education and threatens the healthcare system’s stability.”
Published – December 10, 2024 11:20 pm IST
