Trainee doctor raped and murdered in India sparks protests and attack on medical college

KOLKATA, India — A medical intern was raped and killed, sparking protests in several cities and an attack on a medical school campus, while doctors and paramedics in several cities across India were demanding better and safer working conditions.

Dozens of people brawled on the campus of a medical college in eastern India, attacking vehicles and ransacking patient wards on Wednesday night, police said on Thursday. Police did not say who was behind the brawl, but media reports said several policemen were injured and police fired tear gas in the clash on Wednesday night on the grounds of RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal state.

The unrest began when police said a 31-year-old medical intern was found raped and killed Friday. A police volunteer was arrested in connection with the crime, and police turned the case over to federal investigators under a court order.

Government hospitals in several cities in India suspended medical services, except emergency departments, as protesters demanded justice, saying it was a case of gang rape and that more than one person was involved.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau, police in India recorded 31,516 rape reports in 2022, a 20% increase compared to 2021.

Many crimes against women go unreported in India because of the stigma associated with sexual violence, as well as a lack of trust in police. Women’s rights activists say the problem is particularly acute in rural areas, where communities sometimes shame victims of sexual assault and families worry about their social standing.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday condemned atrocities against women in the country.

“There is outrage in the country. I feel that outrage,” Modi said in an address to the nation on the occasion of his 78th Independence Day.

CV Governor Ananda Bose visited the medical college on Thursday to assess the situation.

Rahul Gandhi, leader of the opposition Congress party, said in a statement that he had noticed that some government officials were trying to protect the suspects instead of punishing them.

Rape and sexual violence have been in the spotlight since the brutal gang-rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a bus in New Delhi in 2012. The attack sparked mass protests and inspired lawmakers to mandate harsher penalties for such crimes and set up fast-track courts to deal with rape cases.

Rape law was changed in 2013, criminalising stalking and voyeurism and lowering the age at which one can be tried as an adult from 18 to 16.

Human rights activists say that despite strict laws, the government is still not doing enough to protect women and punish attackers.