Thousands took to the streets of Kolkata early Thursday to condemn the rape and murder of a local doctor, demanding justice for the victim and an end to the chronic issue of violence against women in Indian society.
The discovery of the 31-year-old’s brutalized body last week at a state-run hospital has sparked nationwide protests, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding swift punishment for those who commit “monstrous” deeds against women.
‘Anger in the Nation’
Modi, speaking in New Delhi on Thursday morning at independence day celebrations, did not specifically reference the Kolkata murder but expressed his “pain” at violence against women.
Doctors are also demanding swift justice and better workplace security in the wake of the killing, with those in government hospitals across several states on Monday halting services “indefinitely” in protest.
Protests have since occurred in several other hospitals across the country, including in the capital.
Echoes of Delhi Bus Rape
Indian media have reported the murdered doctor was found in the teaching hospital’s seminar hall, suggesting she had gone there for a brief rest during a long shift.
An autopsy has confirmed sexual assault, and in a petition to the court, the victim’s parents have said that they suspected their daughter was gang-raped, according to Indian broadcaster NDTV.
Though police have detained a man who worked at the hospital helping people navigate busy queues, officers have been accused of mishandling the case.
Kolkata’s High Court on Tuesday transferred the case to the elite Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to “inspire public confidence.”
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.
For many, the gruesome nature of the attack has invoked comparisons with the horrific 2012 gang rape and murder of a young woman on a Delhi bus.
Her death sparked huge, and at times violent, demonstrations in Delhi and elsewhere.
Sailendre Sil, with AFP
