On Wednesday, 12 of them — including senior PGT medic Ashis Pandey, belonging to the Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad (TMCP) and known to have ties with Sandip Ghosh, the former principal currently in CBI custody — appeared before the panel.

During the hearing, the protesting junior doctors occupied the area outside the hospital superintendent’s office where the 12 deposed.

As the 12 were leaving the hospital premises, hundreds of junior doctors chanted slogans like “down with threat culture” and “down with north Bengal lobby”. As the junior doctors chased the group, they were escorted out of the hospital by CISF personnel.

The “north Bengal lobby” refers to a group of doctors employed in government-run hospitals and medical colleges. The doctors belonging to the group have been accused of “threatening” junior doctors of RG Kar hospital. The doctors of the group are believed to be close associates of Sandip Ghosh.

Meanwhile, junior doctors said they would continue their protest and their “fight for justice” would be escalated “if needed”.

“Justice for RG Kar today is not only the movement of RG Kar Medical College or only junior doctors. This movement has become a general mass-citizen movement. The protesting doctors feel that this movement could not have progressed without the contribution of the common people of Bengal,” Debashish Haldar, one of the leaders of West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front (WBJDF), told mediapersons.

The junior doctors also slammed the BJP, accusing the Opposition party of “trying to use the movement for the petty interests of grabbing the power in the state”.

This after BJP leaders like Dilip Ghosh and Ashok Dinda called the junior doctors’ movement a “self-interested effort”.

“We have made one thing clear again and again. We will not allow those who have garlanded rapists in Hathras-Kathua-Unnao to use our movement in the game of grabbing power. The people will not allow it. Doctors have made it clear that this movement has rejected any divisive politics from day one and will continue to do so in the future as well,” the junior doctors said on Wednesday.

The junior doctors’ front also alleged that the TMC government has rescinded its permission to allow them to hold a convention on September 27 to discuss the future roadmap for their movement.

The protesting junior doctors withdrew their 11-day sit-in before the state health department headquarters Swasthya Bhawan last week and partially rejoined emergency and essential services at state-run hospitals after talks with the state government.

However, on Wednesday, after a meeting with representatives from 26 state-run and private medical colleges, the Front alleged that false cases have been slapped against those who expressed solidarity with their movement and joined democratic protests.

“The administration is apparently pursuing a vindictive attitude even after we showed intention and flexibility to end the deadlock. Over one month has passed but there is not much demonstrative evidence of the probe into our colleague sister’s rape and murder moving at the desired pace,” one of the protesting junior doctors, Aniket Mahato, said.

— With PTI