Protests erupt in India after young trainee doctor raped and murdered in hospital

The brutal rape and murder of a young medic has sparked outrage and nationwide protests.

There are chaotic scenes in India after a trainee doctor was raped and murdered.

Hospital services have been disrupted and thousands of doctors have gone on strike after a 31-year-old woman’s brutalised body was found last week in a state-run hospital in West Bengal’s Kolkata, where she was a resident doctor.

A subsequent autopsy confirmed sexual assault and homicide.

Medical professionals, activists and citizens of Siliguri chant as they take part in a protest march named 'The Night is also ours' to condemn the rape and murder of a young medic. Picture: Diptendu Dutta/AFP

The protests took part on the eve of India’s 78th Independence Day celebrations. Picture: Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP

In a petition to the court, the victim’s parents have said they suspected their daughter was gang-raped, according to Indian broadcaster NDTV.

Doctors in government hospitals across several states have halted elective services “indefinitely”, demanding speedy justice and better workplace security.

While police have detained a man who worked at the victim’s hospital helping people navigate busy queues, officers have been accused of alleged mishandling of the case.

Kolkata’s High Court on Tuesday transferred the case to the elite Central Bureau of Investigation to “inspire public confidence”.

Doctors in government hospitals across several states have halted elective services “indefinitely”, demanding justice. Picture: Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP

The case has been handed over to the elite Central Bureau of Investigation to “inspire public confidence”. Picture: Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP

Widespread problem

Sexual violence against women is a widespread problem in India, an average of nearly 90 rapes a day were reported in 2022 in the country of 1.4 billion people.

The gruesome nature of the recent attack has invoked comparisons with the horrific 2012 gang rape and murder of a young woman on a Delhi bus.

The woman became a symbol of the socially conservative country’s failure to tackle sexual violence against women.

Her death sparked huge, and at times violent, demonstrations in Delhi and elsewhere.

Under pressure, the government introduced harsher penalties for rapists, and the death penalty for repeat offenders.

Several new sexual offences were also introduced, including stalking and jail sentences for officials who failed to register rape complaints.