Fierce protests in India following the rape and murder of an emergency physician

The outrage of health workers in India is growing, and on Friday they multiplied their calls for protests following the rape and murder of a female doctor last week in Kolkata, a case that has shocked the country.

In Kolkata, in the east of the country, hundreds of doctors and other health professionals rallied to demand action. There were also demonstrations in the capital, New Delhi, and in Nagpur, in the center.

"We intensified our protests ... to demand justice for our colleague," Suvrankar Datta, from the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) public hospital in New Delhi, told AFP.

The 31-year-old woman's body was found with several injuries on Aug. 9 at the Kolkata public hospital where she worked. According to the Indian channel NDTV, the autopsy confirmed the sexual assault and, in a petition to the court in charge of the case, the victim's parents point to the suspicion that it was in a group.

For now, the police have arrested only a man who worked at the hospital and the case is in the hands of the Central Bureau of Investigation.

Demonstrations called by citizens

Since Thursday, several demonstrations were called in Kolkata and in the country's capital, New Delhi, to condemn the facts and to ask for more involvement of the government in the fight against sexual violence.

The murder in Kolkata has generated mobilizations in several government hospitals, where the staff suspended "indefinitely" the scheduled non-essential services in protest.

In the city of Kolkata, a huge crowd gathered at a vigil with candles to condemn the killing. Among their posters were messages such as "We want justice" or "Hang the rapist, save the women."

The scandal reached the celebrations this Thursday of India's Independence Day in New Delhi, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi, although without referring directly to the case, expressed his "pain" for the violence against women.

"Crimes against women must be promptly investigated. Monstrous behavior against women must be punished swiftly and severely," Narendra Modi said.