Woman doctor at RG Kar hunger strike falls unconscious in toilet

Kolkata: Calcutta Medical College and Hospital's woman junior doctor Tanaya Panja, who was on a fast-unto-death agitation, along with other protesting junior doctors, since October 5 against the ghastly rape and murder of a junior doctor of R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital, had to be hospitalised on Monday evening as she became unconscious and fell down on the floor of a nearby toilet.

Since she is attached to the Calcutta Medical College and Hospital, she has been admitted there only.

One of her fellow hunger-strikers said that her blood pressure level came down to an alarmingly low level of 86/62, which made her extremely weak.

"Tanaya’s medical conditions started deteriorating on Monday morning and we insisted that she should get hospitalised immediately. But she refused. Since now she has become unconscious and had fallen down on the toilet floor, we had no other option but to hospitalise her," said a fellow junior doctor.

Tanaya was among the first six junior doctors who started the fast-unto-death agitation on the evening of October 5 at Esplanade. She is the fifth junior doctor to be hospitalised following a deterioration in her health condition, with the other four being Aniket Mahato of R.G. Kar, Anustup Mukhopadhyay of Calcutta Medical College & Hospital, Pulastya Acharya of N.R.S. Medical College & Hospital, and Aloke Verma of North Bengal Medical College & Hospital at Siliguri in Darjeeling district.

"Tanaya has been transferred to the intensive care unit of Calcutta Medical. Just how much more of this can we take? We will update every one of his conditions," said a protesting junior doctor.

It is learnt that besides the alarmingly low blood pressure, Tanaya had reported other medical conditions like ketone bodies in urine.

The condition of the other fasting doctors - Snigdha Hazra, Sayantani Ghosh Hazra, and Arnab Mukhopadhyay, is also deteriorating.

Indian Medical Association's (IMA) national President R.V. Asokan, who visited the fast-unto-death protest site on Friday, said that the agitation by the junior doctors was not in self-interest but in the larger public interest, and pledged the support of the apex medical body.

However, at the same time, Asokan requested the fasting doctors to withdraw their agitation.

"Life comes first. Do not adopt the extreme step,” he was heard appealing to the doctors on hunger strike.

A crucial hearing on the rape and murder case is scheduled for hearing at the Supreme Court on Wednesday.

IANS