India’s top court creates safety task force after rape, murder of doctor

The Supreme Court orders federal paramilitary forces to provide security at the Kolkata state hospital where the trainee medic was attacked.

India’s Supreme Court has set up a national task force of doctors to make recommendations on workplace safety following the rape and murder of a trainee medic at a state hospital that prompted nationwide protests.

The court said on Tuesday that the doctors’ panel was being established to frame guidelines for the safety and protection of medical workers across the country.

India has been outraged by the 31-year-old trainee’s assault and killing inside a state-run hospital in the eastern city of Kolkata, the crime again highlighting sexual violence against women in the country. Her bloodied and brutalised body was found on August 9.

“Protecting safety of doctors and women doctors is a matter of national interest and principle of equality. The nation cannot await [for] another rape for it to take some steps,” Chief Justice Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud said.

The court also asked federal police to submit a report on Thursday on the status of its investigation into the woman’s murder at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

It additionally ordered a federal paramilitary force to provide security at the hospital, as it assured doctors that their concerns were being addressed.

Doctors and healthcare workers in India have held protests and candlelight vigils and have also been refusing to see nonemergency patients in their demand for a swift criminal investigation. The Supreme Court requested all doctors to return to work.

A police volunteer, who was tasked with helping police personnel and their families with hospital admissions when needed, has been arrested and charged with the