Thousands of outraged Indian protesters, including arch-rival football fans, called for justice on Monday after the rape and murder of a doctor as widespread strikes by healthcare workers entered a second week. The discovery of the 31-year-old doctor's bloodied body at a state-run hospital in the eastern city of Kolkata on August 9 sparked medical strikes and protests across India, channelling anger at the chronic issue of violence against women. Doctors' associations from government-run hospitals in many cities across India continued strikes on Monday that cut non-essential services.
"We have forgotten our rivalries to make common cause in calling for justice for the doctor and her family," said Bablu Mukherjee, a supporter of Kolkata's Mohun Bagan soccer team. "The cause is bigger than our club, even bigger than politics." The murdered doctor was found in the teaching hospital's seminar hall, suggesting she had gone there for a break during a 36-hour-long shift.
An autopsy confirmed sexual assault and, in a petition to the Kolkata High Court, her parents said they suspected their daughter was gang-raped. In a rare case of unity, fans from Kolkata's usual rivals the East Bengal club marched alongside them in a midnight rally that lasted into the early hours of Monday. "We are with the doctors," the fans chanted in unison, shrugging off torrential monsoon rains and police seeking to break up the rally.
"We want justice." Many of the protests in multiple cities have been led b.