Protests escalate in India over doctor's rape and murder

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for strict punishment for crimes against women amid growing protests over the gruesome rape and murder of a doctor.

MUMBAI — Thousands of women marched across several Indian cities overnight and Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for strict punishment for crimes against women, as outrage and protests against the gruesome rape and murder of a doctor escalated.

Holding candles and posters that said “reclaim the night,” women held marches across cities, including the eastern Indian city of Kolkata, where the rape and murder of a trainee doctor last week has set off protests by fellow medics, demanding better and safer working conditions.

Many government hospitals in cities across India suspended all services except emergency departments earlier this week, as junior doctors sat outside in protest, demanding justice for the victim.

A nurse looks at the debris after a hospital in Kolkata was vandalized on Thursday.Dibyangshu Sarkar / AFP - Getty ImagesThe 31-year-old doctor was found dead on Friday. Police said she had been raped and murdered and a police volunteer was subsequently arrested in connection with the crime.

“As a society, we have to think about the atrocities being committed against our mothers, daughters and sisters. There is outrage against this in the country. I can feel this outrage,” Modi said in an address to the nation on its 78th Independence Day on Thursday.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/protests-escalate-india-doctors-rape-murder-rcna166701

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