Doctors demand apology from TMC's Abhishek Banerjee over 'misleading post'
What's the story
A doctors' forum in West Bengal has written to Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee, nephew of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, protesting his claim that a man died due to lack of treatment at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
The forum has demanded an "unconditional public apology" from Banerjee for his statement.
The Joint Platform of Doctors, West Bengal, has written to Banerjee expressing their concern over his statement, which they labeled as "untrue" and "malicious."
Context
Why does this story matter?
Doctors at RG Kar Medical College have been protesting since the August 9 rape and murder of a trainee doctor at the hospital.
The victim's body was discovered in the seminar hall with severe injuries, and a civic volunteer was arrested the following day.
The case faced delays, prompting the Supreme Court on August 22 to criticize the Kolkata Police for their slow investigation.
On August 13, the Calcutta High Court transferred the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation.
Statement clarification
Doctors refute Banerjee's claims about patient's death
The forum refuted Banerjee's claim that the patient "bled for three hours without receiving medical attention."
They clarified in their letter, "The young male patient, suffering from polytrauma due to...road accident, was referred to a higher center from Srirampur and was received at RG Kar promptly at 9:10am on the same day, September 6."
The doctors on duty immediately attended to him and continued to provide medical care at frequent intervals until his unfortunate demise at 12:30pm, it added.
Twitter Post
Read the letter issued by doctor's body here
Joint Platform of Doctors, West Bengal writes to TMC National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee, registering their protest and demanding an unconditional apology for "untrue and incendiary statement on social media". Their letter mentions his post from Sept 6 on X. pic.twitter.com/yYOllfcjym
— ANI (@ANI) September 9, 2024
Call for action
Doctors urge Banerjee to correct 'potentially dangerous' claim
The doctors' body urged Banerjee to take "prompt corrective action" as his "potentially dangerous" claim could have serious consequences for the medical community, already under pressure due to the August 9 incident.
They said, "Contrary to your claim, the patient did not 'bleed for three hours without receiving medical attention.' Your assertion lacks any foundation in truth and disregards the efforts made by medical professionals who did everything to save the patient's life."
Family's anguish
Victim's mother blames protesting doctors for son's death
To recall, the mother of the 26-year-old victim, Vikram Bhattacharjee, last week blamed the striking doctors at RG Kar Medical College for her son's death.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) also claimed that Bhattacharjee didn't receive medical care for three hours due to the strike.
"He died in front of my eyes without any treatment," said Kabita Bhattacharjee, adding, "The doctors may be protesting...because of that they wouldn't treat a patient?"
MP Banerjee called the situation "tantamount to culpable homicide."
Twitter Post
Read Abhishek Banerjee's statement here
A young boy from Konnagar lost his life today following a road accident, after BLEEDING FOR 3 HOURS WITHOUT RECEIVING MEDICAL ATTENTION, a consequence of the ongoing protest by doctors in response to the #RGKar incident. While the demands of the junior doctors are both fair and… pic.twitter.com/1wJBVhPP7y
— Abhishek Banerjee (@abhishekaitc) September 6, 2024