Safety Measures in Health Centers
New Delhi, Aug 20 (EFE).-
The Supreme Court of India ordered on Tuesday the creation of a special panel for the development of safety measures in health centers, after the rape and murder of a young doctor sparked a wave of protests and strikes across the country.
India’s highest court held the first hearing about the rape and murder of a doctor in the city of Kolkata, state capital of West Bengal, as a ‘suo motu’ (on its own initiative) case over the systemic problems regarding the safety of doctors, exposed by the recent crime.
The 31-year-old resident doctor was raped and murdered on Aug 9 inside a hospital where she worked. Her body was found with brutal wounds and there are suspicions of it being a case of gang rape.
The case has sparked protests by doctors across the country, accompanied by multiple strikes, over the lack of safety in their workplaces.
During the Supreme Court hearing that was broadcast live on Tuesday, Chief Justice DY Chandrachud ordered the creation of “a national task force which will have doctors from diverse backgrounds who will suggest modalities to be followed all across India” for the safety of doctors.
The judges also revealed at the hearing a series of irregularities that occurred during the investigation.
The head of the hospital ”tried to pass this (murder) as a suicide, parents (were) not allowed to see the body,” said Chandrachud, who also lamented the leaking of images of the body to the media, all of which have inflamed the protests.
The case has also taken on a major political dimension, with multiple party members of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP criticizing the management of West Bengal’s Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is one of the leading figures opposed to Modi.
The loopholes in the investigation conducted by the local police led the High Court in Kolkata, to order the case to be handed over last week to India’s main federal investigative agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the CBI for updates about the investigation by Thursday, when the next hearing is scheduled.
In addition, it ordered all states in India to collect and provide details such as the number of security employees present in each hospital, the number of restrooms for medical personnel, or information on whether there are areas reserved only for doctors.
Sexual violence against women remains a persistent issue in India, often sparking societal backlash and demands for stronger safety measures. In 2022, India recorded 31,500 rape cases—an average of 86 per day. EFE
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