- The rape and murder of a young doctor sparks widespread protests in India.
- Horrifying incident shows vulnerability of doctors, Indian medics say
- Doctors demand closure of medical departments for 24 hours.
The horrific rape and murder of a young doctor in eastern India continues to evoke strong emotions as medical professionals call for a nationwide shutdown of hospital services and political parties prepare for protests.
Last week, the 31-year-old doctor was tragically attacked and murdered while working at a medical college in Kolkata.
The horrific incident sparked widespread outrage and nationwide protests within the medical community, drawing comparisons to the infamous gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student in New Delhi in 2012.
According ReutersThe Indian Medical Association (IMA), the largest organisation representing doctors in the country, on Thursday announced a nationwide lockdown of most medical departments for 24 hours, with the exception of essential services, starting Saturday morning.
This is the largest strike of its kind in at least a decade.
“Doctors, especially women, are vulnerable to violence due to the nature of their profession. Authorities have an obligation to ensure the safety of doctors in hospitals and on campuses,” the IMA said in a statement broadcast Thursday evening on Channel X.
Political parties, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is in opposition in West Bengal, said they would hold protests in the city on Friday.
Bollywood actors, other celebrities and politicians have expressed shock at the crime and called for harsher punishments for perpetrators of crimes against women.
A volunteer police officer working at the hospital was arrested and charged with the crime.
Lack of protection, facilities
Doctors say the circumstances of the rape indicate the vulnerability of the medics, who were left without protection or adequate facilities.
The government introduced sweeping changes to the criminal justice system, including tougher sentences, after the Delhi gang rape, but activists say little has changed despite the tougher laws.
The victim, whose murder has sparked protests across India, had ordered some food with others nearly 20 hours into a 36-hour workday last Friday and then went to sleep for a while, staff at RG Kar Medical College said. Reuters.
“He retreated to the empty seminar room used by on-call doctors to rest,” said a co-worker who spoke on condition of anonymity.
As news of her murder spread and protests erupted across the country earlier this week, IMA's letter to Health Minister JP Nadda was published, in which the organisation wrote: “Working conditions for pedestrians, inhuman workloads and workplace violence are the reality.”
“Authorities have repeatedly been alerted to the lack of facilities, but there has been no improvement,” said a resident doctor at the hospital, who asked not to be named.
