Kolkata physician rape and homicide case: Large nationwide protests and over dozen arrests for vandalism

Bollywood stars have joined the general public outrage over the rape and homicide of a junior physician in Kolkata throughout her 36-hour shift at a state-run hospital.

Hindi movie stars similar to Kareena Kapoor Khan, Preity Zinta, Richa Chadha, Alia Bhatt, Swara Bhasker and Tisca Chopra have known as for swift justice for the sufferer.

“One other brutal rape. One other day of realisation that ladies aren’t secure, anyplace,” Ms Bhatt wrote on Instagram.

Ms Bhasker mentioned the crime was a “painful reminder that India isn’t any nation for ladies”, including that “the accused have to be placed on trial and justice have to be served speedily”.

The medical doctors’ strike has left 1000’s of low-income sufferers in misery throughout state-run hospitals.

Shyamal Guha, 78, was one such affected person on the RG Kar hospital, who was made to return after spending greater than two hours within the ambulance on the hospital earlier this week.

“My father had a coronary heart assault yesterday, now because of extra problems the hospital requested us to maneuver him right here. They’re now refusing to take him to the emergency room. If this continues, he’ll die,” Mr Guha’s son, Pradip, mentioned.

Whereas a collection of ambulances made their means into the hospital premises, the sufferers contained in the car had been pressured to attend for hours and finally return to search out one other hospital. “It’s 4.30pm and RG Kar is the third hospital to have refused me therapy,” mentioned a lady in anguish.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has known as authorities handy a dying penalty to these concerned within the rape and homicide of a 31-year-old junior physician contained in the hospital in Kolkata metropolis final week.

Ms Banerjee, the one girl chief minister in India, will lead a political rally at present in Kolkata demanding swift justice for the sufferer.

One suspect has been arrested within the case, a civil volunteer named Sanjay Roy, who’s related to the Kolkata Police.

The case has since been taken over by the federal Central Bureau of Investigation amid requires an unbiased and clear inquiry into the crime.

“Give dying penalty to those that are literally answerable for the crime however innocents shouldn’t be punsihed,” Ms Banrejee mentioned in her enchantment to the protesting medical doctors on the RG Kar Medical School and Hospital.

The resident medical doctors affiliation of the RG Kar Medical School ceased work on the emergency companies final week.

The Indian Medical Affiliation, the nation’s largest grouping of medics, mentioned it might implement a nationwide shutdown of most departments, besides important companies, for twenty-four hours from Saturday morning, the most important such strike in not less than a decade.

“Medical doctors, particularly girls are susceptible to violence due to the character of the career. It’s for the authorities to supply for the security of medical doctors inside hospitals and campuses,” the IMA mentioned in an announcement issued on X late.

Large protests have erupted in India following the rape and homicide of a junior physician throughout her 36-hour shift at a state-run hospital within the japanese metropolis of Kolkata.

The Kolkata police have arrested 19 males for breaking by means of the barricades on the RG Kar Medical School and Hospital and went on a rampage contained in the emergency ward.

The peaceable protests led by girls on Wednesday had been marred later within the night time by a mob of males who broke by means of the police barricade, vandalising the protest venue and ransacking the emergency ward.

“We had been making ready to take out a rally, when out of nowhere dozens of males barged in and began assaulting whoever they may see,” a resident physician, who didn’t want to be named, instructed The Unbiased.

“We ran contained in the hospital to save lots of ourselves. They had been out for blood.”

Kolkata Police fired teargas to disperse the protesters and detained a number of males from the group, although they’re but to touch upon the motive behind the assault.

“The mob was tearing wires to snap the electrical energy with their naked fingers. That they had rods and swords and got here charging in direction of the police,” an officer with Kolkata Police instructed The Print.

“There have been sufferers present process therapy and the pressure saved them on precedence.”

A video shared on social media confirmed the mob breaking down a police barrier on the entrance of the federal government hospital. An individual may very well be heard repeatedly begging them: “Don’t do that.”

Tens of 1000’s of girls took to the streets throughout India on Wednesday night time in protest over the rape and homicide of a trainee physician at a outstanding state-run hospital in West Bengal.

The most important of the protests occurred in Kolkata itself, the place girls armed with placards, candles and the Indian nationwide flag ushered within the nation’s 78th Independence Day at midnight by demanding justice for the killing of the 31-year-old feminine resident at RG Kar Medical School and Hospital.

Ladies on the “Reclaim the Evening” protest instructed The Unbiased that they needed swift justice for the sufferer – some are calling for the perpetrator or perpetrators to be given the dying penalty – but additionally a wider depending on violence in opposition to girls and the security of medical doctors within the nation.

Prime minister Narendra Modi condemned atrocities in opposition to girls in his Independence Day deal with yesterday, calling for stricter punishments for the perpetrators.

“As a society, we now have to consider the atrocities being dedicated in opposition to our moms, daughters and sisters. There may be outrage in opposition to this within the nation. I can really feel this outrage,” he mentioned.

Police in India recorded 31,516 reviews of rape in 2022, a 20 per cent enhance from 2021, in accordance with the Nationwide Crime Information Bureau.