The alleged rape and murder of a trainee doctor in the eastern city of Kolkata, which has shocked the nation and sparked anger toward the police, will prompt Indian doctors to launch a nationwide strike on Saturday.
To highlight the police’s alleged mishandling of the investigation and advocate for safer working conditions for female doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers, the Indian Medical Association called for a 24-hour strike.
The association said in a statement that essential services will continue to be provided during the strike, but routine and elective procedures will not.
While a doctors’ association urged more than a million colleagues across the nation to take a day off from work, police in the Indian state of West Bengal on Friday arrested hundreds of protesters who were upset about the rape and murder of a medical professional that occurred last week. Protesters’ blockades, according to police and local officials, disrupted public transportation in several parts of the state. Over 1,500 people were held in custody.
Kolkata Doctor’s Rape Case
Demonstrations by political parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, were also held in Kolkata, the state capital and the crime scene.
In response to the alleged rape and murder of a 31-year-old graduate trainee on Aug. 9 on the premises of a government hospital in the city, junior doctors and medical students in Kolkata have held nightly vigils this week. The IMA says that the case was “handled shabbily” by authorities and later stalled, but a suspect was arrested a day later.
Dissatisfied with the state police’s handling of the case, the Calcutta High Court ordered the case to be handed over to the federal Central Bureau of Investigation. Last Friday, the victim, a 31-year-old doctor, was discovered dead on a mattress covered in blood in the medical college in Kolkata where she worked. After working nearly 20 hours of a 36-hour shift, she had taken a nap in a college lecture hall. G. Reuters was informed by Kar Medical College.
Doctors and women’s groups have staged protests as a result of their frustration with the inability of stringent laws to stem the rising tide of violence against women. In a nation where cases of sexual violence against women are prevalent and frequently go unreported, politicians, celebrities, and activists condemned the incident.
In 2022, the National Crime Records Bureau reported a total of 31,516 cases of rape. Without specifically referring to the Kolkata case, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for tougher penalties for those who commit sexual crimes in his Independence Day speech on Thursday.
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) issued a call on Thursday for over a million doctors nationwide to suspend all services except emergency departments for 24 hours beginning Saturday morning. In this nation, women make up the majority of our professions.
We have repeatedly requested their safety,” IMA President R. V. According to Asokan, The rape and murder have shocked the nation, and Bollywood actors, other well-known people, and politicians have all called for more severe punishments for those who commit these crimes.
He stated, “The need of the hour is that there should be a broad discussion about the criminals who get punished so that even those who commit such sins fear the consequences, including being hanged.” “I think that causing this fear is very important,” Protesters claim that the fact that a police volunteer has been arrested and charged with the crime is not sufficient.
According to doctors, the circumstances of the rape highlight the vulnerability of medical personnel without adequate facilities or protection. After the 2012 gang rape of a 23-year-old student in a bus that sparked similar protests and outrage, campaigners claim that little has changed since. Among the changes made to the criminal justice system were stiffer sentences.
The gang-rape and subsequent death of a student in Delhi in 2012, which brought global attention to India’s high rates of sexual violence, has been compared to this case. In addition to tighter laws and the establishment of fast-track courts for rape cases, the incident sparked a nationwide wave of protests. Additionally, more rape cases were reported as a result.
By DNC