Kolkata, Oct 9 (IANS): Over 100 senior doctors including senior faculty members resigned from two prime medical colleges and hospitals in West Bengal on Wednesday.

They were expressing solidarity with their junior colleagues protesting and holding a fast-unto-death against the rape and murder of a junior doctor in August.

The senior doctors who quit en masse are from Calcutta Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata and the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital at Siliguri in Darjeeling district.

At Calcutta Medical, a total of 70 senior doctors, including senior faculty members, resigned on Wednesday afternoon.

Although the exact number of doctors who resigned at the North Bengal Medical is yet to be known, sources said that the number will not be less than 40.

At the time the report was filed, information surfaced that senior doctors at Midnapore Medical College & Hospital in West Midnapore district are already prepared to tender mass resignations later in the day.

On Tuesday afternoon as many as 50 senior doctors at R.G. Kar Hospital, including representatives from the faculty there, tendered their resignations.

“We have tendered mass resignations now. If the state government wants, we will be forwarding our individual resignations at a later stage.

“If anything happens to the junior doctors fasting at Esplanade in Kolkata, who will take the responsibility of that? So our request to the state government is to take necessary steps before the matter takes a serious turn,” said a senior doctor of Calcutta Medical College.

Another resigning senior doctor said that it is unfortunate that the protests over the rape and murder have been going on for such a long time and there is no seriousness on the part of the state government to address that.

“We are now really worried about our seven junior doctors who are holding a fast-unto-death,” he added.