Protesters block rail lines, buses in India

Thousands of protesters blocked railway lines, halted buses in India’s state of West Bengal on Wednesday following the brutal rape and murder of a female trainee doctor.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is in opposition in the eastern state, called for a 12-hour state-wide protest strike after police fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse a march on Tuesday.

Thousands of doctors, many of them on strike since the August 9 crime was discovered, marched in the state’s capital of Kolkata, demanding justice for the victim and better workplace safety for doctors.

“If the state government had powers to make laws, I would have made a law in seven days that would mandate capital punishment in incidents of rape,” Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee told a rally.

Many university students were among Tuesday’s protesters, who had called for Banerjee’s resignation over her handling of the rape and murder of the 31-year-old doctor in a government-run hospital in Kolkata.

Indian President Droupadi Murmu said she was “dismayed and horrified” by the incident.

It should be noted here that the August 9 rape and murder of the 31-year-old trainee medic while she was on duty at Kolkata’s state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital caused outrage and protests across India.