Junior doctors in India's eastern city of Kolkata called off on Monday a 17-day-old hunger strike launched in protest against the rape and murder of a colleague, they said, in response to an appeal by the victim's parents.

Six were subsisting only on water and were admitted into the hospital after a multiday fast to demand justice for the brutal rape and killing of a medical resident.

During the meeting, Banerjee urged the doctors to end their hunger strike, stressing that most of their demands had already been met. However, she rejected their call for the removal of the state health secretary.

After their meeting with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, protesting junior doctors and those on indefinite hunger strike, have decided to call off their fast unto death. It has been 16 days since the doctors have been on a hunger strike.