Reclaiming the night: People holding lit mobile phones while surrounding candle lights and posters on road protesting against the rape and murder of a resident doctor at a government hospital in early August, in Kolkata, India. — AP
Vast crowds bearing candles marched through the streets of Kolkata, demanding justice nearly one month on since the rape and murder of a doctor.
The discovery of the 31-year-old doctor’s bloodied body at a state-run hospital in Kolkata on Aug 9 has stoked nationwide anger at the chronic issue of violence against women.
“We want justice”, read one message spelt out in flickering candles and clay lamps.
“Let there be light, let there be justice”, a sign held by protesters read.
The brutal murder has triggered protests across India – and repeated strikes by medics – demanding safer conditions for women.
While many protests and strikes have since calmed in the rest of India, regular demonstrations continue in the sprawling megacity of Kolkata.
Police said as many as 100,000 took part in the rally in Kolkata. Similar but smaller rallies were also held in the capital New Delhi.
Thousands gathered late on Wednesday evening, joining hundreds of doctors who are maintaining a strike, linking arms to form a human chain in a protest to “reclaim the night”.
Traffic ground to a halt in Kolkata’s usually bustling main city streets, as women blocked the route with a mass sit-in, waving a sea of Indian flags.
The father of the murdered doctor also spoke at the rally outside the hospital where her battered body had been found, talking of his family’s “broken hearts” and how they had been “shocked to the core” by the killing.
He also dismissed a state law passed on Tuesday – that could lead to the execution of rapists – as nothing “but a populist sham”.
One man has been detained for the murder, but West Bengal’s government has faced public criticism for the handling of the investigation. — AFP
