Indian doctors strike over brutal rape and murder of colleague in hospital
- The resident doctor’s body was found last week in a state-run hospital in West Bengal’s Kolkata
Indian doctors in government hospitals across several states halted elective services “indefinitely” on Monday to protest the rape and murder of a young medic.
The 31-year-old woman’s brutalised body was found bearing multiple injuries on Friday in a state-run hospital in West Bengal’s Kolkata, where she was a resident doctor.
A subsequent autopsy confirmed sexual assault and homicide.
Police have detained a man who worked at the victim’s hospital helping people navigate busy queues, according to local media reports.
Demonstrations by doctors demanding justice and better workplace security that initially began in Kolkata have now spread to other parts of the country.
Sexual violence against women is a widespread problem in India – an average of nearly 90 rapes a day were reported in 2022 in the country of 1.4 billion people.
