In Kolkata, India, police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse a large crowd of protesters demanding the resignation of a senior official in the eastern part of the country. The protests stemmed from the mishandling of an investigation into the recent rape and murder of a 31-year-old doctor at R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on August 9th. This incident sparked nationwide demonstrations, shedding light on the prevalent issue of violence against women in India, with Kolkata being the capital of West Bengal state.
The demonstrators emphasized that the attack on the doctor underscores the risks faced by healthcare workers in Indian hospitals. Supporters of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) attempted to breach police barricades to march to the office of Mamta Banerjee, the leader of the Trinamool Congress party which governs West Bengal, insisting on her resignation. The BJP is the primary opposition party in West Bengal, and their planned rally was prohibited by the police.
Law enforcement officers intervened by using batons, tear gas, and water cannons to suppress the protesters. Prior to the demonstrations, four student activists were detained by the police for allegedly attempting to foment widespread violence. The country’s top court recently established a national task force comprised of doctors to propose measures for ensuring the safety of healthcare workers nationwide, particularly in light of this tragic incident.
An investigation into the doctor’s death confirmed that she had been sexually assaulted, leading to the apprehension of a police volunteer in connection with the crime. The victim’s family claimed it was a gang rape involving multiple perpetrators. The public outcry over the incident has sparked nationwide demonstrations denouncing violence against women, prompting healthcare professionals to stage walkouts at various public hospitals in India to demand safer working conditions, affecting numerous patients countrywide.
Despite the enforcement of stringent laws following the notorious 2012 gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a bus in Delhi, women in India continue to confront escalating levels of violence. The government responded to that heinous crime by imposing harsher penalties for such offenses, establishing specialized courts for rape cases, and even introducing the death penalty for repeat offenders.
