India's top police agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), on Wednesday took over the probe into the brutal rape and murder of a young doctor, a case that has sparked widespread outrage and a walkout by doctors across India.
The 31-year-old woman's body was found on Friday (August 9) at a government hospital in Kolkata, West Bengal, where she was working as an intern. An autopsy confirmed she was sexually assaulted and murdered.
Authorities arrested a volunteer police officer in connection with the crime.
Doctors demand safety
On Monday (12/8), thousands of doctors held demonstrations in Kolkata and West Bengal to protest the killings. They demanded justice for the victims and increased security in hospitals.
Protests spread nationwide on Tuesday (Aug. 13), disrupting hospital services in several cities in India. More than 8,000 government doctors stopped working in all hospital departments except emergency units.
In New Delhi, junior doctors protested outside a major government hospital, holding posters that read, “Doctors are not punching bags,” according to the news agency. Reuters.
Doctors at government hospitals in several states have suspended elective services indefinitely, calling for speedy justice and better workplace safety.
Police have arrested a man who worked at the victim's hospital, but there have been allegations of mishandling the case.
The victim's parents have filed a petition in court stating that their daughter may have been gang-raped, the television station reported. NDTVaccording to the news agency AFP.
90 rape cases per day
Sexual violence against women is a serious problem in India. In 2022, there were nearly 90 rape cases reported every day in the country of 1.4 billion people.
The case has drawn parallels with the 2012 gang rape and murder of a young woman on a Delhi bus, which led to public outrage and significant reforms.
In response to the 2012 incident, the government introduced harsher penalties for rape, including the death penalty for repeat offenders, and introduced new sexual offences such as stalking.
Authorities who also fail to register rape complaints also face jail time. (ab/lt)
Some of the information in this report comes from Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
