Protesting Kolkata doctors claim cover-up in killing of trainee Indian medic after arrest

Striking staff say more than one person was probably involved in the crime and are pushing for compensation for her family

Indian doctors in government hospitals across several states halted elective services 'indefinitely' in protest over the sexual assault and killing of a graduate medic. AFP

Thousands of resident doctors across India have stepped up strike action over an alleged government cover-up in the rape and murder of a trainee medic, disrupting patient care in state-run hospitals nationwide.

A 31-year-old resident doctor was killed on Friday at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, West Bengal, while she was on shift.

Her body was found in the state-run hospital bearing numerous injuries and she had been sexually assaulted, local media reported.

Police have arrested a civic volunteer, who has reportedly confessed to the crime, but protesting doctors claim more people were involved in the crime and the alleged cover-up. Resident doctors are graduate doctors who are receiving on-the-job training at government-run hospitals.

Dr Rohan Krishnan, orthopaedic surgeon and president of the Federation of All India Medical Doctors' Association, told The National: “The main accused is not arrested. The DNA report has not come yet and we have looked at the postmortem and it looks like it might have been the job of more than one person … because there was massive bleeding from her eyes and other body parts.

“There is only one arrest at the moment and that more looks like a scapegoat because there is no concrete proof. Suddenly, within a few hours, police arrested him and that person has also confessed and is ready to get hanged."

Dr Krishnan said the group of striking doctors is pressing for a judge-led investigation and compensation of 10 million rupees ($119,000) to the victim’s family.

“Our faith in the system is lost,” he said. "The doctor fraternity has been united in this case and won’t let this slide by easily."

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has given a deadline of Sunday to Kolkata police to solve the case, failing which she said she would hand the matter over to the Central Bureau of Investigation, India’s federal agency.

About 10,000 junior doctors across the country, including at India’s premier All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) were on strike on Tuesday.

The protest action has disrupted patient care across Indian states, with a decline in numbers of outpatient consultations and elective surgeries on Monday, AIIMS said. Patient registration at the institute was down by a quarter on Monday and the number of walk-in patients restricted, the group said.

India, a nation of 1.4 billion people, has 1.3 million doctors. However, patients visiting outpatient departments of various hospitals in the capital New Delhi said they were unable to secure appointments.

“I came here early this morning, I have issues with my ears,” Mohammad Vakil, 24, who visited Delhi’s Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital, told the Economic Times. He said he was asked to return in a week in the hope of getting an appointment. “I was advised to follow the news to see if the strike ends,” he added.

Arun Kumar travelled more than 300km for treatment at the outpatient department of King George’s Medical University in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. “Doctors have the right to protest, but what about us?" he said. "We have come from so far."

Sexual violence against women is a widespread problem in India, where an average of nearly 90 rapes a day were reported in 2022. A survey by the Indian Medical Association found 75 per cent of doctors in India have faced some form of violence.

The government in 2022 amended legislation to set up mechanisms to prevent violence against doctors including imposition of penalties and setting up helplines to extend immediate help to professionals who are victims of violence in the workplace. It also criminalised violence against healthcare professionals.

The Indian Medical Association is demanding the government improve security at hospitals.

“We want the union government to declare hospitals ‘safe zones’,” said Dr RV Asokan, president of the IMA. "What we have in mind is a layered security structure for hospitals. This has to be defined by law and enforced by local authorities.

“We have state legislation on violence against doctors/healthcare workers in 25 states. On the ground, it is found not to be practical, as a central law is not in place.” He called for that law to be re-examined.