The Kolkata Police has extended the orders barring the assembly of people outside RG Kar Medical College and Hospital till August 31, reported PTI.

The police had earlier imposed the prohibitory orders till August 24 after a spate of protests in the vicinity against the rape and murder of a junior doctor at the medical institute in the early hours of August 9.

On Saturday, Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal issued a statement extending the order that was issued under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, which prohibits rallies, meetings, processions, dharnas and demonstrations.

This came as doctors continued their protest for the sixteenth day, reported The Indian Express.

CBI searches at ex-principal’s premises

The Central Bureau of Investigation on Sunday conducted searches at the premises of Sandip Ghosh, the former principal of Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, and 14 others, reported PTI.

The anti-corruption unit of the central investigating agency also searched the residences and offices of those engaged in supplying materials for the management and care of patients at the hospital.

Ghosh had resigned as the principal of the facility after the rape and murder of the junior doctor.

On Friday, the Calcutta High Court ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation to look into alleged irregularities by the facility in buying medical equipment.

The order came on a public interest litigation moved by the college’s former deputy superintendent Akhtar Ali.

On Thursday a special court in Kolkata also allowed the Central Bureau of Investigation to conduct a polygraph test on Ghosh and four others.

On August 13, the Calcutta High Court transferred the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation.

Taking suo motu cognisance of the case, the Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the central investigating agency to submit a status report by Thursday. It also constituted a National Task Force of doctors to recommend measures to ensure safety in the workplace for medical professionals.

At a hearing on Thursday, a bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra directed authorities not to take coercive action against doctors protesting the incident if they resumed their duties.

Also read: What a brutal crime in a Kolkata hospital reveals about the dangers women doctors face in India