Three doctors who were at the forefront of the protests after the RG Kar junior doctor was raped and murdered have alleged vindictiveness in their postings as senior residents at hospitals that they had not chosen during counselling.

The allegation of vindictiveness centres around the postings of Aniket Mahata and Asfakulla Naiya, who were postgraduate trainees at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, and Debashis Halder, who was a first-year senior resident at Medical College Kolkata, when the protest was at its peak last year.

The protests had followed the rape and murder of the second-year postgraduate trainee in the emergency building at RG Kar hospital on August 9, 2024.

Mahata and Naiya have completed their trainee period and are now waiting to join as first-year senior residents.

Halder is waiting to join as a second-year senior resident.

Mahata, an anaesthesiologist, had picked RG Kar as his choice in the counselling, but has been posted at Raigunj Government Medical College and Hospital.

Naiya, an ENT specialist, chose Prafulla Chandra Sen Government Medical College in Arambagh, but has been sent to Deben Mahato Government Medical College and Hospital in Purulia.

Halder, an anesthesiologist, chose Howrah district hospital but has been posted at Gazole Rural Hospital.

A doctor, after obtaining the postgraduate degree, has to serve three years as a senior resident — one in a medical college and two in a district, sub-divisional or rural hospital.

"A merit list was prepared for each speciality based on the performance of the PGTs in the final-year exam. After that, the health department published a vacancy list for each speciality, mentioning the vacancies in the hospitals and medical colleges. Then a counselling was held where, based on rank on the merit list, each doctor chose the hospital or medical college of their choice," said a junior doctor.

"Why was the counselling held if the government did not allow us to choose the colleges we picked? Then why keep the counselling process at all?" asked Mahata.

A senior state government official refuted allegations of vindictiveness. "The senior residents are government servants, and they have to go wherever the government sends them on a posting. The posting order is done based on the requirements in the hospitals. There is nothing vindictive in this posting," said the official.

A junior doctor said anyone who does not want to complete the tenure as a senior resident has to pay ₹10 lakh per year to the government.

Another junior doctor said the stamp of vindictiveness in the posting order was also clear because two out of 871 first-year senior residents were not given the colleges they chose in the counselling.

Similarly, only one out of 778 second-year senior residents was not given the hospital that he chose in the counselling, the doctor said.

On Tuesday, several junior doctors went to Swasthya Bhavan to meet health department officials.

Several senior doctors' associations have also written to the health department, alleging vindictiveness in the posting order.