The Delhi Police filed an FIR against 21 doctors from major hospitals across the national Capital, including All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) and Safdarjung, for protesting outside in front of the office of the Ministry of Health at Nirman Bhawan against the rape and murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata hospital.

According to a source, the doctors were charged under Section 143 IPC for unlawful assembly and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), violating a prohibitory order under Section 144 CrPC and the FIR was registered at Kartavya Path police station. The FIR is against 21 doctors from prominent hospitals in the capital, including AIIMS, Safdarjung (SFJ), Lady Hardinge Medical College, RML, Guru Tegh Bahadur (GTB), and Maulana Azad Medical College (MAMC).

Among the doctors against who the FIR has been registered, Dr Inder Prakash (AIIMS), Dr Ansar Mehndi (AIIMS), Dr Chinmay (AIIMS), Dr Himanshu Sharma (AIIMS), Dr Prakalp (AIIMS), Dr Raghunandan Dixit (AIIMS), Dr Shubhankar Dutta (AIIMS), Dr Gautam (RML), Dr Nitin Bagri (RML), Dr Abhishek Garg (LHMC), Dr Bharani (SFJ), Dr Subham Saini (SFJ), Dr Saksham (SFJ), Dr Arpana, Dr Aditi (SFJ), Dr Rajat (University College of Medical Sciences), Dr Sharda (LHMC), Dr Bhanu (PG), Dr Vipin (Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital), Dr Vinayak Kumar (GTB), and Dr Gaurav Chaudhary (GTB).

According to the police, a prohibitory order under Section 144 CrPC was in place around Nirman Bhawan, near Maulana Azad Road. However, the doctors violated the order by staging a protest and raising slogans. The police stated that the FIR was lodged against the doctors for violating the prohibitory order.

However, no senior official has commented on the matter as of yet.

Meanwhile, marking the 10th day of their indefinite strike on Wednesday over the alleged rape and murder of a trainee doctor in a Kolkata hospital, resident doctors continued their protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on Wednesday while slogans such as ‘Doshi ko saza do’ and ‘Shauk nahin, majboori hai, ye hadtal zaroori hai’ echoing at the site.

However, with elective services in several government hospitals across the city remaining suspended, patients continued to reel as it is becoming difficult to access medical services as hospitals turned them away. Many are sharing that the strike is hindering them to get treatment for themselves and their loved ones.

“I travelled from Patna to get treatment here for my son and have been trying to show him to a doctor here. I have been coming for four days but either we don’t get an appointment or they say that the doctor has left,” said a 37 year old woman who came to Safdarjung hospital, adding that she will return after waiting for a day more.

Meanwhile, a 45 year old Naveen reached Jantar Mantar along with his brother to get consultation from doctors at the protesting site. “I received this pamphlet from a woman in my shop at Pallika bazaar about doctors staging a protest here. We had learnt from the news that they are offering elective outpatient services on the road. Hence, we came here to show our solidarity to their cause, as they are absolutely right to do this, while also getting consultation from them,” he said.

Further, protesting doctors said that it’s very important to understand that we are fighting for better working conditions in our own workplace. Resident doctors arrived at Jantar Mantar at 11 am for the protest, marking their second gathering there after Saturday.

“Not just as a doctor, but as a woman, I often feel unsafe while working. I have to be extra careful during work and constantly think about my own safety, often carrying a key or something for protection,” Radhika Sharma, a doctor from Lady Hardinge Medical college, said.

“The situation is beyond us. It’s a mass movement and we need protection,” Sharma said, adding that this fight is very important for the doctors as they are fighting for better working conditions at their workplaces. Another protesting doctor said, “We are thankful to the Supreme Court for recognising this as a national issue, but we are continuing the strike because we want this issue to reach a conclusion as soon as possible”.

“Safety should not just be an assurance; we want a protection act, and we want it from the central government,” the doctor said.

Meanwhile, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) requested resident doctors of the institute to resume their duties immediately so that patient care services are normalized. According to a release from the Office of the Director, AIIMS, “The undersigned along with the entire AIIMS family stands behind the cause of the safety of all healthcare professionals at AIIMS New Delhi & across the Country. However, as doctors, our supreme duty is also to ensure that the patients visiting our portals do not go unattended.”

Members of Resident Doctors’ Association from major hospitals in Delhi, along with the Federation of Resident Doctors’ Associations (FORDA) and the Federation of All India Medical Associations (FAIMA), have been on an indefinite strike.