Indian medics refuse to end protests over doctor’s rape and murder

Published August 19, 2024
Doctors shout slogans as they hold placards during a protest rally in New Delhi on August 18 demanding justice following the rape and murder of a trainee medic at a hospital in Kolkata. — Reuters
Doctors shout slogans as they hold placards during a protest rally in New Delhi on August 18 demanding justice following the rape and murder of a trainee medic at a hospital in Kolkata. — Reuters

Thousands of Indian junior doctors on Monday refused to end protests over the rape and murder of a fellow medic, disrupting hospital services nearly a week since they launched a nationwide action demanding safer workplace and swift criminal action.

Doctors across the country have held protests and declined to see non-emergency patients following the August 9 killing of the 31-year-old medic, who police say was raped and murdered at a hospital in the eastern city of Kolkata where she was a trainee.

A police volunteer has been arrested and charged with the crime. Women activists say the incident has highlighted how women in India continue to suffer from sexual violence despite tougher laws brought in after the 2012 gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a moving bus in New Delhi.

The government has urged doctors to return to duty while it sets up a committee to suggest measures to improve protection for healthcare professionals.

“Our indefinite cease-work and sit-in will continue till our demands are met,” said Dr Aniket Mahata, a spokesperson for protesting junior doctors at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, where the incident happened.

In solidarity with the doctors, thousands of supporters of West Bengal state’s two biggest soccer clubs marched on the streets of Kolkata on Sunday evening with chants of “We want justice”.

Groups representing junior doctors in neighbouring Odisha state, the capital New Delhi and the western state of Gujarat have also said their protests will continue.

Opinion

Editorial

Syria’s future
Updated 10 Dec, 2024

Syria’s future

Today, HTS — a ‘reformed’ radical outfit once associated with Al Qaeda — is in a position to be the leading power broker in Syria.
Rights in peril
10 Dec, 2024

Rights in peril

IN Pakistan’s fraught landscape of human rights infringements, misery hangs in the air. What makes this year’s...
Learning from AJK
10 Dec, 2024

Learning from AJK

THE recent events in Azad Kashmir are a powerful example of how dialogue can play a constructive role in effectively...
CPEC slowdown
Updated 09 Dec, 2024

CPEC slowdown

Current CPEC slowdown doesn't mean China has lost interest in the connectivity project or in Pakistan.
Madressah bill
09 Dec, 2024

Madressah bill

A CONTROVERSY has been brewing over the Societies Registration (Amendment) Act, 2024, with the JUI-F slamming ...
Protecting varsities
09 Dec, 2024

Protecting varsities

THE recent proposal by the Sindh cabinet to shoehorn in non-PhD bureaucrats as vice chancellors has sparked concern...