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Indian doctors strike over rape and murder of young colleague

Indian doctors stage a nationwide strike to protest the rape and murder of a colleague at work.

Indian doctors held a 24-hour nationwide strike over the weekend to protest the rape and murder of a young doctor at a Calcutta hospital and to demand better protection for health workers.

An estimated one million health workers supported the strike. Some junior doctors are still on strike, saying they will not return to work until the authorities meet their safety demands.

The blood-soaked body of 31-year-old Dr. Moumita Debnath was found in a seminar room of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9.

An investigation report confirmed the sexual abuse, and her family wrote in a court filing that they believed she was the victim of a gang rape. She was on duty at the time of her murder.

Following protests by junior doctors and residents following the discovery of Debnath's body, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) called for a 24-hour “nationwide suspension of services” and suspension of all non-essential procedures over the weekend.

“We ask for the nation’s understanding and support in this fight for justice for its doctors and daughters,” IMA President RV Asokan said in a statement ahead of the strike.

In a letter to India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the IMA called for a central law banning violence and property damage in healthcare facilities and for security measures in healthcare facilities to be as stringent as those at airports.

“The 36-hour shift the victim was on and the lack of safe resting places… call for a thorough review of the working and living conditions of junior doctors,” the IMA added in the letter.

According to IMA, 60% of doctors and 85% of nurses in the country are women. According to The Times of India, an IMA study found that 75% of doctors have been victims of assault, mostly verbal, while on the job.

The weekend's protests took the form of marches, demonstrations and a three-kilometer-long human chain of health workers in Kolkata, near the site of the attack.

Despite the impact on patients, the action has received widespread public support. Supporters of the two biggest football clubs in West Bengal, the state where the attack took place, gathered for a march on Sunday evening to demand justice for Debnath and protection for the doctors.

This Thursday, women in the state of West Bengal have called for a march called “Reclaim the Night,” which will begin at midnight. according to The Hindustan Times. The protest will coincide with the official start of India's Independence Day.

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