by Jahangir Sofi
SRINAGAR: Following the recent rape and murder of a medic in Kolkata, Government Medical College (GMC) Jammu has become one of the first institutions in India to implement enhanced armed security measures, reports reaching from Jammu said.
The move follows a seven-day protest by the Resident Doctors’ Association (RDA) of Jammu and elsewhere in India against the rape and murder incident in RG Kar medical college and hospital in Kolkata. The protesting doctors during the protest were demanding the need for improved safety measures at health institutions.
Media consultant GMC Jammu confirmed to Kashmir Life about the deployment of armed personal inside the hospital premises.
GMC officials said that the associated GMC hospitals in Jammu are among the first in India to have armed security in emergency premises for security of medical staff.
“GMC administrations has been successful in implementation of such security measures after thorough discussions with police administrations”, officials at GMC Jammu said.
The RDA has stated that they will ensure these security measures are sustained and will remain effective.
Notably, the decision comes in the wake of a harrowing rape and murder incident at RG Medical College in Kolkata, following which medics at GMC Jammu and elsewhere protested, seeking security for the doctors in medical institutions.
As per the reports GMC Jammu will initially deploy around 10 to 12 personnel from the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) at the hospital, after which the number is expected to increase.
Besides, the authorities are also planning similar security enhancements at other government hospitals in Jammu.
These measures will also include the deployment of female security personnel to ensure the protection of female doctors and staff.
Notably, the trainee doctor was raped and murdered inside a seminar hall of Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9.
The crime incident sparked widespread outrage and led to protests within and beyond the medical community.
Resident doctor associations in Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of India were protesting and on frequent strikes against the brutal rape and murder of the trainee doctor for the last 11 days, affecting elective services, including OPDs, non-emergency surgeries.
The strike was called off on Thursday after a bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud requested doctors to do so. “How does a public health infrastructure run if the doctors don’t report to work? Justice and medicine cannot go on a strike,” the Supreme Court had said.
The bench also ordered proactive steps to address the larger issue of doctors’ safety in public hospitals, a concern that has resonated across the medical community in the wake of the Kolkata incident.
-x-
