On Wednesday evening, state chief secretary Manoj Pant invited a delegation of “eight to ten” junior doctors for talks with the state task force at the Swasthya Bhavan. The meeting, which was scheduled to start at 7.45 pm, commenced around 9.45pm. A delegation of 29 junior doctors went to attend the meeting chaired by the chief secretary, and also attended by state’s home secretary, director general of police (DGP) and members of recently constituted state level grievance redressal committee. However, it failed to break ice between the agitating junior doctors and the state government.

“Except for some verbal assurances we got nothing from this meeting. We requested the government to issue some directives or at least give us a timeline as to when our demands will be met. They declined. The government only wanted us to withdraw the hunger strike. Our colleagues are on hunger strike for around 100 hours now. The government, however, said that they will do an assessment after the puja. We are totally frustrated,” Debasish Halder, one of the junior doctors, told reporters after the meeting.

The development comes a day after around 50 senior doctors of RG Kar hospital resigned en masse on Tuesday. The mass resignation, according to doctors, did not hamper healthcare services at various hospitals and medical colleges. “This is symbolic to some extent in solidarity with the striking junior doctors, and aimed at sending out a strong message to the state government,” a senior doctor said.

Till Wednesday night, a total of 106 doctors and faculty at RG Kar hospital have tendered their resignation. During the day, 19 doctors from Jalpaiguri Medical College and Hospital, 42 from North Bengal Medical College and Hospital, Siliguri, 35 from Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital and around 70 doctors from Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata tendered their resignations.

Read more: RG Kar rape-murder case: Doctors’ association announces nationwide hunger strike on Oct 9

“We the senior faculty members of Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata are rendering mass resignation to protest of the insensitive attitude towards justified democratic movement and deteriorating health conditions of the protesting doctors on indefinite hunger strike. Individual resignation will follow if the situation demands so,” said a mass resignation letter signed by senior doctors of Kolkata Medical College.

Meanwhile, junior doctors who have been observing an indefinite hunger strike since last Saturday night — demanding justice for their 31-year-old colleague who was brutally raped and murdered at RG Kar hospital on August 9 — took out rallies to various Durga Puja pandals in Kolkata demanding quick completion of probe into the rape-murder case.

The city police detained some of the protesters and took them to police headquarters in Lalbazar. Later, a group of junior doctors and citizens held a rally to Lalbazar. They were, however, stopped near Bentinck Street in central Kolkata, following which the protesters sat on the road raising slogans.

Thousands of people throng various pandals during the 10-day festivities of Durga Puja, the state’s most popular festival, which started on October 3 and will continue till the coming weekend.

West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose met the junior doctors who are on indefinite huger strike in Esplanade area in the evening and enquired about their health condition, an official said.

Bose spoke to seven junior doctors, who have been fasting since the last four days, demanding justice for the RG Kar hospital victim. To be sure, two other junior doctors are on hunger strike in north Bengal as well.

“We will visit 12 puja pandals in south and north Kolkata in order to reach out to citizens and tell them about our movement and demands. We will distribute leaflets and speak to the people,” a junior doctor, requesting anonymity, said. “Our demands are not just related to gearing up security in hospitals but also include strengthening infrastructure in government hospitals which will benefit the people.”

The protesters have raised a set of 10 demands before the government, including justice for the victim, removal of state health secretary, deployment of police in hospitals, and enquiry committees to probe allegations of threat culture and corruption in the state medical council.

Some doctors’ associations have also planned a march to the CGO Complex in Salt Lake housing the office of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is probing into the rape and murder case, to mount pressure on the federal agency.

On Monday, CBI filed a charge sheet in the case against prime accused Sanjay Roy, accusing him of rape and murder, with officials familiar with the matter saying the agency did not find any evidence of gangrape in the incident.

“CBI’s charge sheet is frustrating and laughable. After probing for 58 days, they found Sanjay Roy, an arrested civic volunteer, as the only accused. This is CBI’s failure,” Dr Biplab Chandra, a physician, said.

A four-member delegation went inside the CBI’s office and met a senior officer.

“The agitation will continue. There are several people who perpetrated the threat culture in hospitals. Junior doctors have been saying they feel unsafe at the work place. CBI has assured us that investigation is still going on. We also told them that doctors have been attacked even after the RG Kar incident,” Bhaswati Mukherjee, secretary of Nurses Unity, said.