Siliguri, Jan. 6: Junior doctors of North Bengal Medical College and Hospital (NBMCH) are likely to call off their indefinite ceasework tomorrow.

After meeting with hospital authorities and representatives of the civil and police administration this evening, the agitating interns said they would join work tomorrow “if the hospital authorities take the first steps to meet our demand”.

“One of them is the immediate replacement of the security guards and the removal of illegal settlers on the campus,” said Prashanta Sarkar, the secretary of NBMCH Junior Doctors’ Council. “The administration has assured us that they will deploy police force in place of the guards and make announcements over the public address system asking the settlers to vacate the area. The moment they start doing this, we will join work. Not before that.”

Smita Pandey, the Siliguri subdivisional officer, in whose presence the meeting was held, said the doctors seemed very positive and the administration is hopeful that they will withdraw their agitation at the earliest.

About 150 junior doctors and interns have been on ceasework since yesterday after they clashed with the security guards at the hospital over alleged manhandling of a visually challenged expecting mother on Friday night.

Sunita Roy of Rangapani under Phansidewa delivered a baby girl at the hospital on Friday night. When she was brought to the hospital, her father Sunil wrote in his complaint with Matigara police station, attending junior doctors beat her up since her mother insisted to speak on Sunita’s behalf. They also manhandled him and broke his glasses.

Junior doctors, on the other hand, said Sunita’s family members had entered the over-crowded labour room, despite being denied permission. Security guards reportedly joined the family along with a group of bystanders and a scuffle with the doctors ensued following which the doctors called a cease-work. The guards, who had also called a strike, withdrew their protest yesterday.

Udayan Ganguly, the principal of NBMCH said: “We have resolved to take all measures to restore normality in the college.”

North Bengal Council for the Disabled has decided to take the case with the Disability Commission.

“It is sad that even after 12 years of the passing of the Persons with Disability Act, there are so much of bias working against people with disability,” said Asok Hore, project coordinator for the North Bengal Council for the Disabled. “What is more heart-rending is that such kinds of prejudiced treatments are coming from doctors.”

Municipal affairs minister Asok Bhattacharya, too, came down heavily on the agitating junior doctors. “Whatever be the reason, it is not justified that doctors go on cease-work.”