Brutal killing sparks fiery protests across India; citizens call for stricter laws in response to Kolkata doctor rape and murder case.
Thousands of people protested the rape and death of a trainee doctor at a government hospital on Friday by marching through several Indian towns. They were calling for justice and increased security at hospitals and medical facilities.
With signs calling for responsibility for the woman’s rape and murder, demonstrators gathered in front of the Parliament building in New Delhi. Similar demonstrations were held in other Indian cities like Mumbai and Hyderabad, as well as in Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal, which is located in the east and the scene of the murder.
On August 9, when authorities found the 31-year-old trainee doctor’s blood-soaked body in the seminar hall of the government-run R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, the largely peaceful protests got underway.
A volunteer police officer was detained in relation to the sexual assault after a post-mortem examination verified the incident. The victim’s relatives claimed that more persons were involved and that it was an instance of gang rape.
There have been accusations of improper treatment of the matter made against the state government officials who started the investigation. Later, in response to a court order, the police turned the investigation over to federal investigators.
Since then, growing national indignation about violence against women has prompted rallies. Thousands of medical professionals, including paramedics and physicians, have walked out of many public hospitals in India in response to these protests, calling for a safer workplace.
In India, sexual assault against women is a common problem. The National Crime Records Bureau states that there were 31,516 reports of rape by police in 2022, a 20% rise from 2021.
Because sexual violence is stigmatized and people don’t trust the authorities, many offenses against women go unreported. Women’s rights advocates claim that families are worried about their social standing and that victims of sexual assault are sometimes shamed in rural regions, making this a particularly serious issue.
A doctor taking part in the demonstration in New Delhi on Friday, Dr. Richa Garg, stated she no longer feels safe at work.
It makes my blood boil as a woman. “Our workplaces need to be made safe, and the perpetrators of this crime should be apprehended right away,” she stated.
The hospital where the internist was killed was targeted on Wednesday night. Police claimed to have arrested 19 people so far, but they did not reveal who was responsible for the incident.
The largest medical association in the nation, the Indian Medical Association, demanded a “nationwide shutdown of services” beginning on Saturday and lasting 24 hours, “except for essential services.”
“Doctors, especially women, are vulnerable to violence due to the nature of their profession,” the IMA stated in a statement posted on the social networking platform X. Authorities have a responsibility to protect physicians working in hospitals.
Bollywood actors, political groups, and other well-known people have all expressed horror at the atrocity and called for harsh punishment for those who commit it.
In his speech to the nation on Thursday, the 78th anniversary of Independence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated, “Monstrous behavior against women should be punished swiftly and severely.”
Many have compared this awful incident to the 2012 violent gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a bus in New Delhi. Following the incident, there were numerous, occasionally violent protests, which forced politicians to establish rape tribunals with accelerated timelines and stiffer penalties for similar offenses. The government also implemented the death sentence for repeat offenders due to pressure.
The 2013 amendment to the rape statute made stalking and voyeurism illegal in addition as lowering the age of adulthood from 18 to 16.The 2013 amendment to the rape statute made stalking and voyeurism illegal in addition as lowering the age of adulthood from 18 to 16.
