Indian doctors demand stricter laws after a colleague was raped and killed in a hospital

NEW DELHI (AP) — Hundreds of doctors protested near India's health ministry on Monday, demanding strict laws to protect their health workers from violence and justice for their colleague who was raped and killed in a government hospital.

The protesting doctors — holding placards reading “Justice delayed is justice denied” — were stopped by police as they tried to set up free outpatient services for patients in front of the Health Ministry in New Delhi. Part of the demonstrations and rallies took place for over a week.

Doctors and paramedics across India have held protest rallies and candlelight marches and temporarily refused to treat non-emergency patients after the Rape and murder of the 31-year-old trainee Doctor on August 9 in the East Asian city of Calcutta, the capital of the federal state of West Bengal.

The protesting doctors say the attack shows the vulnerability of medical and nursing staff in hospitals and clinics across India. They are demanding stricter laws to protect them from violence, including making any attack on medical staff on duty a criminal offence and denying the possibility of bail. They also want to increase security measures in hospitals and create safe rest rooms for the medical staff.

The government called on doctors to return to work and announced the establishment of a committee to examine their demands.

The rape and murder of the trainee doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Calcutta has also focused anger on the chronic problem of Violence against women and led to protests across India.

A police officer working at the hospital was arrested and charged with the crime. However, the victim's family claims it was a gang rape and that several people were involved. The case is being handled by federal investigators.

Thousands of people, especially women, also marched in the streets of Calcutta demanding justice for the doctor. Her murder had shown how women in India are treated despite strict laws under the Gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student in a moving bus in Delhi in 2012.

This attack prompted lawmakers to impose harsher penalties for such crimes and set up fast-track courts for rape cases. The government also introduced the death penalty for repeat offenders.

Despite stricter laws, sexual violence against women remains a widespread problem in India.

In 2022, police recorded 31,516 rape reports, according to the National Crime Records Bureau – a 20% increase from 2021.