Fury on the streets of India. Protests continued on Sunday, August 18, over the alleged murder and rape of a doctor who was doing her internship at a hospital in the city of Calcutta, in the east of the country.
After the incident became known, on August 9, the country’s medical sector went on strike and stopped treating non-urgent patients in solidarity with the victim’s family. However, although the strike ended this Sunday, several doctors took to the streets to continue demanding justice.
The protests extended beyond the medical sector. Thousands of citizens also took to the streets of Calcutta and other Indian cities to seek clarification of what happened and to denounce the obstacles and delays that the entire process has faced. During the demonstrations, participants carried candles and chanted phrases such as “we want justice.”
“My daughter is gone, but now millions of sons and daughters are with me,” said the victim’s father, who, as specified by the Reuters news agency, cannot be identified, under Indian law.
And he sentenced:
This has given me a lot of strength and I feel that we will achieve something with this.
Several feminist movements have stressed that this new case of gender-based violence in India highlights the dangers that women in the country continue to face. This is despite the fact that India toughened penalties for those guilty of gender-based violence in 2012, following the murder of a 23-year-old student on a bus in Delhi in 2012.
The alleged perpetrator has so far been identified as a police volunteer who helped with hospital admissions. The man was arrested and charged with the murder and rape of the doctor.
Supreme Court takes the case
India’s Supreme Court took control of the investigation following criticism of the Kolkata police, which has been heavily criticized for irregularities and flaws in the initial investigation. It had initially labeled the case a suicide.
In this regard, the Supreme Court ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation of India (CBI), which has greater powers to handle such cases, to take over the case to ensure a “thorough” investigation and added:
We have transferred the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) of India to do justice between the parties and inspire public confidence.
The arguments and concerns of the family are also expected to be heard. “The parents of the victim are afraid that if the investigation is allowed to continue in this manner, it will be derailed. Therefore, they are praying for extraordinary relief. Another disturbing aspect is that a case of unnatural death was registered. It is stated that such cases are registered when there is no complaint,” the court said.
According to the specialized media LiveLaw —cited by EFE—, the first hearing is scheduled for August 20, and the court is expected to closely monitor the progress of the investigation.
What is known about the case?
The victim, a 31-year-old junior doctor, was found dead in a ward at RG Kar Hospital in Kolkata on August 9.
The autopsies indicated that she had been the victim of sexual assault. However, the local police initially reported the death as suicide. A version widely questioned during the protests. In addition, after the release of more evidence, there has been speculation that it could have been a gang rape.
In fact, the victim’s family and many activists claim that there could be more people involved in the attack.
So far, only one police volunteer, who was working at the hospital, has been arrested in connection with the crime.
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