Junior doctors of medical college hospitals called off their strike on Tuesday after "assurances" that they need not sign bond papers in the wake of a recent Cabinet decision to extract Rs 15 lakh in penalty from post-graduate students who quit the course midway.

The Cabinet has also decided to extract Rs 25 lakh in penalty from those who don't serve government set-ups for three years after competition of course. Besides, stipend amount received during the course would be taken back.

Junior doctors of seven medical college hospitals, including Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH), Nalanda Medical College and Hospital (NMCH), Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS), Anugrah Narayan Magadh Medical College and Hospital (ANMCH), Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital (JLNMCH), Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH) and Darbhanga Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) did not report to the indoor and outpatient departments (OPD) of hospitals on Monday and Tuesday to protest against an incident at SKMCH where some junior doctors were thrashed by some patients' attendants on the hospital premises on Friday.

Initially, the junior doctors association demanded proper security cover in medical college hospitals, but later added another demand - roll back of the decision to get the present batch of PG students (junior doctors) to sign bond papers that say they would be penalised if they left their course midway or did not opt for rural service after their course.

"We have been assured by the college authority that none from the present batch have to sign any bond regarding the recent the cabinet decision," said Vinay Kumar, president of the PMCH's junior doctors association.

But Anil Kumar, deputy secretary-cum-spokesperson of the health department was non-commital. He only said: "We will take a call."

Vinay said: "It would have been unfair for PG students, who are already pursuing the course, to sign any such bond because they were not informed by government authorities about this decision before taking admission. Postgraduate students of many non-clinical branches had decided to take admission in clinical branches as they have cleared the NEET exam. We were forced to include this demand because the second round of NEET counselling would start from Wednesday."

Junior doctors said they would review progress on implementation of the promises made by the government after 15 days and then take a call on the road ahead. Earlier in the day, the indoor and OPD services were partially affected at all these hospitals because of the junior doctors' strike.

Patients in outpatient departments could not get enough medical attention, with only a handful of senior doctors present and no junior doctors to support them. "I had come with my wife as she suffered from stomach problems. But we had to wait for hours as there were very few doctors," said Shambhu Singh of Naubatpur. "PG students shoulder most of the work in the indoor and outpatient departments. So definitely we faced problems," said a senior doctor of the medicine department.