New Delhi: The Union Health Ministry on Saturday urged doctors to call off their nationwide strike in response to the shocking rape and murder of a trainee doctor at Kolkata's RG Kar Hospital.

The Ministry assured that a committee would be set up to propose safety measures for healthcare professionals, with input from relevant stakeholders, including state governments, who will be asked to contribute their insights and recommendations.

The strike, called by doctors nationwide, was a 24-hour protest against the horrific crime at the state-run medical college in Kolkata.

All healthcare services were halted except for emergency and essential care.

The medical community is demanding justice, as well as urgent reforms, such as improving working and living conditions for resident doctors and enacting a central law to protect healthcare workers from violence in the workplace.

Officials from the Union Health Ministry met today with representatives from the Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA), the Indian Medical Association (IMA), and Resident Doctors' Associations from government medical colleges and hospitals in Delhi.

The healthcare groups raised serious concerns about the safety of medical professionals at work and urged the government to take swift and effective measures to safeguard them.

The Health Ministry reassured the representatives that the government is fully aware of the challenges faced by healthcare workers and is committed to resolving these issues.

The Ministry also highlighted that 26 states have already enacted laws to protect healthcare workers, highlighting the government's sensitivity to the matter.

"The Ministry requested the agitating doctors to resume their duties in the larger public interest and in view of the rising cases of Dengue and Malaria," reads the official statement.