Indian doctors halt services in protest over rape, murder of trainee doctor

Resident Doctors in many Indian states have stopped all elective medical services, in protest after the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at a medical college in the eastern West Bengal state.

The Federation of Resident Doctors' Association (FORDA) had called for nationwide halting of elective services in hospitals starting Monday.

“As a mark of our solidarity with the colleagues … we announce a nationwide halting of elective services in hospitals starting Monday, August 12. This decision is not made lightly but it is necessary to ensure that our voices are heard and demands for justice and safety are met without further delay,” the association said.

The Resident Doctors' Association (RDA) of All India Institute of Medical Sciences Delhi and doctors at several other hospitals in the country have also announced joining the strike until the demands are met.

The emergency care will continue, the doctors said.

The trainee doctor, 31, was attacked on Friday at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal, on Friday. Her body was found inside the hospital.

An autopsy showed she suffered sexual assault before being killed.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said Monday afternoon that police will have time till Sunday to solve the case.

She said the case would be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation, if police failed to solve the case.