Mumbai, Nov. 4 -- Outpatient department (OPD) services in government hospitals across the state remained completely suspended on Monday as more than 15,000 doctors went on strike seeking a court-monitored probe into the death of a government medical officer posted at Phaltan. Non-emergency procedures and elective surgeries would be suspended from Tuesday, medical organisations spearheading the strike warned. If the government fails to respond to their demands by November 7, even emergency services would be suspended, they said. The deceased medical officer, attached to the Sub-District Hospital in Phaltan in Satara district, was found dead in a hotel room in Satara on October 22. In a suicide note inscribed on her palm, she accused her landlord's son of physical and mental harassment and a police officer of sexual assault and rape. She had also complained several times about being under pressure from the local police and a member of parliament to fudge medical reports and facilitate police custody of accused individuals. The medical officer's death reignited long-standing concerns among doctors in government hospitals regarding their safety, dignity, and mental health. On October 26, four major doctors' bodies - the Indian Medical Association (IMA), Central MARD (Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors), BMC MARD, and the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) - issued a joint statement seeking a court-monitored probe into the medical officer's death, Rs.5 crore compensation and a government job for her family, and a fast-track judicial process. They also warned about a statewide strike if their demands were not addressed. With more than 12,000 resident doctors and 3,000 senior residents going on strike on Monday, OPDs were non-functional in all major government hospitals in the city, including hospitals run by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), even as emergency and intensive care unit services and casualty units continued to operate normally. "Today, OPD services were completely shut. Only emergency and ICU units are functioning. We are giving the government time till November 7 to act on the demands. After that, all services, including emergency care, will be suspended," said Dr Rohit Meena, president of the MARD unit at Cooper Hospital. At Sion and KEM hospitals, hundreds of resident and senior doctors, interns, and medical students participated in rallies and silent marches. Protests were held in district and rural hospitals in Nashik, Nagpur, Aurangabad, Satara, and Solapur too while OPDs remained shut, inconveniencing thousands of patients. A senior BMC health official said though emergency and casualty departments were operational on Monday, problems would crop up soon if the strike continued. "We managed operations somehow with permanent staff today. But from tomorrow, it will pose a problem - all elective surgeries will have to be postponed. We may even need to discharge patients whose surgeries can be performed later," the official said. If the strike continues beyond November 7, even permanent medical officers may join the agitation after getting necessary permissions, sources in doctors' organisations backing the strike said....