Worldwide protests spanning 130 cities continue a month after Kolkata doctor’s rape and murder

Thousands of people took to the streets worldwide on Sunday to mark one month of protests seeking justice for a doctor who was raped and killed inside a hospital in eastern India.

The protests erupted after the trainee doctor, 31, was found dead on 9 August at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal state. An autopsy confirmed sexual assault.

A suspect was arrested and identified as Sanjay Roy, a civil volunteer associated with the Kolkata police. The Central Bureau of Investigation, a federal agency, took over the case amid calls for a transparent inquiry and arrested the former principal of the college, Sandip Ghosh, over corruption charges.

Thousands of people have staged protests every day in Kolkata since the doctor’s murder demanding justice and better safety for healthcare workers.

The protests turned global on Sunday as diaspora Indians staged demonstrations in some 130 cities across 25 countries. The protests started in Japan, Australia, Taiwan and Singapore, before spreading to cities in Europe and the US.

“The news of this heinous crime committed on a young trainee doctor while on duty numbed and shocked each of us at the sheer ruthlessness, brutality and disregard of human life," Dipti Jain, an organiser of the worldwide protests, told Reuters.

In Dublin, 56km east of San Francisco in California, the protesters formed a human chain, shouting slogans and waving placards that read "We demand justice" and "Shout it loud, shout it far, justice for RG Kar".

People across ages recited poems and took part in a street play. "While we do want women's safety, this is about the safety of everyone at their workplaces," said Sukalpa Chowdhury, 39, a physician who joined the Dublin protest.

In Sweden, scores of protesters, mainly women, gathered at the Sergels Torg square in Stockholm and sang songs in Bengali and held signs.

The crime had sparked widespread street protests and a nationwide strike by doctors that disrupted hospital services in several cities across India.

In West Bengal, the protests turned violent last month after police clashed with members of Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, which was calling for chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s resignation.

The protesting doctors have been demanding better amenities in public hospitals, like resting spaces for staff, as well as speedy ratification of a law for protection of healthcare workers.

Though most doctors have since resumed work, those at RG Kar and some other hospitals have continued the strike.

The Supreme Court on Monday told the protesting doctors to resume work by Tuesday, warning of "adverse action" if they didn’t.

"The doctors cannot be oblivious to the needs of the general community whom they are intended to serve," said chief justice DY Chandrachud.

The court said no “adverse action” would be taken against doctors who returned to work by Tuesday evening.

It also directed the state government to assure the doctors that their concerns were being addressed, not least by providing separate duty rooms and toilets for male and female staff and installing surveillance cameras.

The court last month formed a hospital safety task force to recommend steps to ensure the safety of medical workers in the country.