The incident took place on Friday at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, West Bengal. The victim was reportedly attacked by a hospital staff member after entering a seminar room to rest following dinner. The police discovered evidence of sexual assault on her body and arrested the hospital employee as a suspect.
Members of the Federation of Resident Doctors' Associations (FORDA) began the strike on Monday, suspending some of their duties across at least five states, including West Bengal. Medical trainees across India have been protesting with placards reading "We want justice."
"This heartbreaking incident starkly highlights the severe security deficiencies within our medical institutions nationwide," FORDA said in a statement on X (formerly Twitter). "The perpetrators must be swiftly apprehended and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
According to data from the National Crime Records Bureau, over 31,500 sexual assault cases were reported in 2022.
