Indian hospitals hit as doctors strike to protest rape, murder of colleague

KOLKATA/BHUBANESWAR, India — Hospitals and clinics across India turned away patients except for emergency cases on Saturday (Aug 17) as medical professionals staged a 24-hour shutdown in protest over the rape and murder of a doctor this month in the eastern city of Kolkata.

More than one million doctors were expected to join the strike, paralysing medical services across the world's most populous nation. Hospitals said faculty staff from medical colleges had been pressed into service for emergency cases.

The government, in a statement issued on Saturday after a meeting with representatives of medical associations, urged doctors to return to duties in the public interest. The government would set up a committee to suggest measures to improve protection for healthcare professionals, it said.

In response, the Indian Medical Association said it was studying the government offer, but it did not call off the strike, which was due to end at 6am (8.30am Singapore time) on Sunday.

The walk-out was the latest action in response to the killing of a 31-year old trainee doctor last week inside the medical college in Kolkata where she worked.

The crime has triggered nationwide protests among medical workers and a public outpouring of anger over violence against women reminiscent of what followed the notorious gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a bus in New Delhi in 2012.

The strike halted access to elective medical procedures and out-patient consultations, according to the Indian Medical Association (IMA).

There was a heavy police presence outside Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College where the woman was killed, while the hospital premises were deserted, according to the ANI news agency.

Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of