The doctors who are currently protesting against the rape and murder in Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital today wrote to President Draupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanding their intervention to resolve the impasse surrounding the gruesome crime.

The letter reportedly pointed out the attack by a mob on the hospital premises, vandalising and ransacking the surroundings, in addition to highlighting the issues such as the lack of infrastructure and facilities to ensure the safety of doctors and other healthcare personnel in the letter. The copies of the four-page letter have also been sent to Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar and Union Health Minister JP Nadda.

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“We humbly place the issues before your esteemed excellency, as the head of state, so that our unfortunate colleague who has been the victim of the most despicable crime shall receive justice, and so that we, the healthcare professionals under the West Bengal Health Department, may be able to discharge our duties to the public without fear and apprehension,” the letter read, adding that the intervention from the president and the prime minister will “act as a beacon of light to us all, showing us the way ahead out of the darkness that surrounds us.”

The letter further emphasized the horrific nature of the crime, the alleged attempts to cover it up, and the “ensuing climate of fear has awakened the nation,” which demanded an impartial investigation and a prompt, fair, and rational trial.

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The letter also noted that movements such as ‘Reclaim the Night’ showed the solidarity of the people of West Bengal with the victim. The letter further explained that the junior doctors in West Bengal have been compelled to avoid working within hospital premises and have adopted alternative ways to fulfil their duty of providing healthcare services to the public in “this troubling atmosphere of fear, distrust, and hopelessness.”

Following the doctors protest, and the death of at least 29 patients in the state, chief minister Mamata Banerjee had declared Rs 2 lakh aid to the family of the deceased.

Notably, on Thursday, following the refusal of a delegation of protesting junior doctors after reaching the state secretariat, the chief minister  said she is ready to resign for the sake of the people, claiming that they wanted her chair and not justice.

“They are here for the chair, not justice. For the sake of the people, I am ready to resign. I don’t want the chief ministership,” Banerjee said, after she waited over two hours to talk with the protesters.