Indian doctors resume strike over colleague’s rape and murder

Published October 1, 2024
People chant slogans as they participate in a protest condemning and marking one month since the rape and murder of a trainee medic at a government-run hospital in Kolkata, India on September 8. — Reuters
People chant slogans as they participate in a protest condemning and marking one month since the rape and murder of a trainee medic at a government-run hospital in Kolkata, India on September 8. — Reuters

Indian doctors in Kolkata said on Tuesday they had resumed a strike to protest against the brutal rape and murder of a colleague because their demands for hospital safety improvements had not been met.

The discovery of the 31-year-old’s bloodied body at a state-run hospital in the eastern city in August rekindled nationwide anger at the chronic issue of violence against women.

Doctors briefly returned to limited work in emergency departments last month but decided at a union meeting to cease work again.

Union spokesman Aniket Mahato said the West Bengal state government had failed to deliver on its promises to upgrade lighting, CCTV cameras, and other security measures in hospitals.

“The state government has failed to provide safety and security in the workplace,” he told AFP.

Mahato said doctors would return to the streets on Tuesday night to insist the government meet its pledges and to demand justice for their murdered colleague.

Tens of thousands of ordinary Indians joined in the protests following the August attack, which focused anger on the lack of measures for female doctors to work without fear.

One man has been detained over the murder but the West Bengal government has faced public criticism for its handling of the investigation.

Authorities sacked the city’s police chief and top health ministry officials.

India’s Supreme Court ordered a national task force last month to examine how to bolster security for healthcare workers, saying the brutality of the killing had “shocked the conscience of the nation”.

The gruesome nature of the attack drew comparisons with the 2012 gang rape and murder of a young woman on a Delhi bus, which also sparked weeks of nationwide protests.

Opinion

Editorial

Maintaining balance
16 Feb, 2025

Maintaining balance

THERE are good reasons to be wary. With a new US administration under Donald Trump consolidating its grip on that...
Welcome return
16 Feb, 2025

Welcome return

IT is almost here; the moment Pakistan has long been waiting for — the first International Cricket Council...
Childhood trauma
16 Feb, 2025

Childhood trauma

BEING a child in this society should not be so hard. But recurrent reports of child abuse — from burying girl...
The Peca problem
Updated 15 Feb, 2025

The Peca problem

The fight for fundamental freedoms is not the media’s alone, but one that concerns every citizen.
Miners in danger
15 Feb, 2025

Miners in danger

YESTERDAY’S devastating terrorist attack in Harnai, which killed at least 11 coal miners and injured seven others,...
Solar panels scam
15 Feb, 2025

Solar panels scam

THE scam involving over-invoicing to the tune of more than Rs69bn in the import of solar panels raises many ...