Chandigarh: Doctors at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education Research (PGI) Chandigarh, began a 12-hour hunger strike at 9 AM on Tuesday, demanding justice for a fellow resident doctor who was raped and murdered at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9.

Pradeep Reddy, a doctor said that it had been 200 hours of hunger strike by the doctors in state and yet justice was being denied.

Speaking to ANI, Reddy said, "We are sitting on a 12-hour hunger strike to support our fellow doctors. It has been 200 hours since our doctors have been sitting on strike. Out of seven students, five students have fainted. Why is the state government overlooking our demands? We are not asking for anything big, all we are asking is proper safety and justice on a fast-track basis. We are not any hooligans, we are just another cream layer of society demanding justice. We will be deciding after the strike on what we will do tomorrow. Last month, our protest was called off in respect of the highest court."

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Another doctor said that the strike was to show solidarity to the protesting doctors around the country.

"It has been 10 days since our fellow colleagues have been sick and despite the hunger strike, we have been shown a deaf ear. We are hoping we can show solidarity to our fellow doctors. We are awaiting a hearing from the Supreme Court. Our demands are very basic and not anything intense. The demands are the same for all workplaces. Why can't our demands be fulfilled?", the doctor said, news agency ANI reported.

Earlier, the Resident Doctors' Association (RDA) of AIIMS, New Delhi, on Monday wrote an 'urgent' letter to the President of India, requesting immediate intervention in the ongoing hunger strike by doctors in West Bengal.

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