Nationwide strike over doctor’s rape and murder

Doctors in India have begun a nationwide strike, escalating their protests over the rape and murder of a female colleague in the city of Kolkata, West Bengal.

The Indian Medical Association (IMA), the country’s largest doctors’ group, said all non-essential hospital services would close across the country on Saturday.

The IMA described last week’s killing as a “barbaric crime fuelled by the lack of safe spaces for women” and asked the country to support its “fight for justice”.

Protests against the attack and calls for better protection for women have grown in recent days after mobs vandalized the hospital where the incident occurred.

In a statement, the IMA said emergency and casualty services would continue to operate and the strike would last for 24 hours.

The association’s president, RV Asokan, told the BBC that doctors had endured and protested against violence for years, but this incident was “of a different nature”.

If such a crime could happen at a medical university in a major city, it showed that “anywhere doctors are not safe”, he said.

Earlier this week, doctors at several public hospitals announced they would indefinitely suspend elective procedures.

The IMA also issued a list of demands including strengthening laws to better protect health workers from violence, increasing security levels in hospitals and creating safe spaces for rest.

The petition calls for a “meticulous and professional investigation” into the murder and the prosecution of those involved in the vandalism, as well as compensation for the woman’s family.

The rape of a 31-year-old female intern shocked the whole country.

Last week, her semi-naked body with multiple injuries was discovered at a seminar hall at RG Kar Medical College after she reportedly went there to take a break during her shift.

A volunteer working at the hospital was arrested in connection with the crime.

The case was transferred from local police to India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) after receiving widespread criticism for lack of progress.

Several rape cases have made headlines in India since the woman’s death, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that “atrocities against women must be punished severely and swiftly”.

The rape and murder of the woman has sparked a political blame game in West Bengal, with the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accusing the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) of orchestrating the attack.

The TMC has denied the allegations and blamed “outside political forces” for inciting the violence.

Tens of thousands of women across West Bengal took part in the Reclaim the Night march on Wednesday evening demanding “independence to live in freedom and without fear”.

Although the protests were largely peaceful, clashes broke out between police and a small group of unidentified men who stormed RG Kar Hospital – where the incident took place – and ransacked the hospital’s emergency department.

At least 25 people have been arrested so far in connection with the incident.

Protests were also held in many other Indian cities such as Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Pune.

“It feels like hope is being rekindled,” protester Sumita Datta told AFP as thousands marched through the streets of Kolkata on Friday.