Wednesday, August 14, 2024

India: Doctors protest after medic raped and murdered


The rape and murder of a medical trainee in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata has touched a nerve in India's medical community. Doctors are walking off the job to draw attention to the threats of violence they face.

https://p.dw.com/p/4jPi0

Medical health workers often end up bearing the brunt of violence by people angered at medical services they see as falling shortImage: Satyajit Shaw/DW


Thousands of doctors across major cities in India, including the capital, New Delhi, on Tuesday, joined in on protests sparked by the alleged rape and murder of a trainee last week.

A 31-year-old female medical trainee was found dead at one of the largest government hospitals in the eastern city of Kolkata on Friday. Her body sustained multiple injuries and an autopsy report described evidence of sexual violence.

After the incident, doctors walked off their jobs at government hospitals, demanding better security and safety measures for health workers. The chief of the institution involved, RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, resigned on Monday.


Protests flare as doctors demand better safety

Protests picked up across government-run facilities in the eastern state of West Bengal, home to Kolkata, on Monday — with doctors saying they would suspend emergency services as well until at least Tuesday.

"As resident doctors, we are on the frontline and deal with lots of patients, which makes us quite vulnerable to these attacks," Doctor Rajat Sharma, vice president of India's Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA), told DW.

"It's a scary situation which we see working on a daily basis. Doctors in West Bengal are protesting for their rights. We want to have better security for our resident doctors."

Around 75% of doctors in India have faced some form of violence, according to a survey by the Indian Medical Association.

Sharma's FORDA colleague Sarvesh Pandey told Indian media that doctors' demands included a specialized law protecting healthcare workers from violence on the job.

"There should be stringent security measures in hospitals and CCTV cameras should be installed," he said.

Students at universities in Kolkata also joined in on protests, demanding better safety measures for women in particular.

Sexual violence against women is a big problem in India.

The National Crimes Records Bureau reported that an average of 86 rape cases and 49 cases of crime against women were registered every single hour in 2021.

People hold up banners asking for justice in the incident, calling an end to sexual violence against womenImage: Satyajit Shaw/DW


Protests spread to major cities, some services hampered

The incident has struck a nerve in the medical community who have repeatedly said they face threats from angry family members, especially in the case of bad news involving medical issues.

In the western Maharashtra state, home to financial capital Mumbai, around 8,000 doctors at government hospitals walked off their jobs on Tuesday.

In New Delhi, junior doctors wearing white coats held banners that read "Doctors are not punching bags" as they sat outside a big government hospital to demand an investigation into the incident.




Protests hampered medical services in the city of Lucknow in the most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, as well as in the popular tourist state of Goa.
How have Indian authorities responded?

The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday ordered the case to be transferred over to a federal agency, meaning that Kolkata police will have to submit all case documents to the agency.

Kolkata police initially set up a special investigative team and arrested a man in connection with the case.

City police chief Vineet Kumar Goyal told reporters a case had been registered against the suspect under provisions of the law relating to rape and murder.

The National Human Rights Commission on Tuesday sent notices to the director general of police and the chief secretary of West Bengal state, asking for a detailed report within two weeks.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met the family of the victim on Monday, telling reporters later that police were "giving utmost importance to the investigation."

Uproar in India over Spanish tourist's gang rape 00:39

The report used material from the Reuters news agency

Edited by: Wesley Rahn

Roshni Majumdar Roshni is a writer at DW's online breaking news desk and covers stories from around the world.@RoshniMaj


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