Police in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata have fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse thousands of protesters demanding justice for the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at a state-run hospital earlier this month.
The discovery of the body of the 31-year-old sparked nationwide outrage over the crisis of violence against women.
On Tuesday, thousands marched to a government building in Kolkata, demanding the resignation of West Bengal’s Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee.
A hospital volunteer has been arrested in connection with the crime, which has now been handed over to India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) after criticism of the local police’s slow progress.
The protesters chanted slogans and clashed with police, who used batons to disperse the crowd.
Namita Ghosh, a college student at the protest, told news agency AFP the crowd intended to “protest peacefully” before the baton charge.
A senior police official, speaking anonymously, said at least 100 protesters were arrested for “creating violence”.
A series of protests have taken place since the killing on 9 August. The largest saw tens of thousands of women across West Bengal participating in the Reclaim the Night march on 14 August to demand “independence to live in freedom and without fear”.
But since then, some of the protests have escalated into chaotic political rallies, with police clashing with ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demonstrators angry at the state government.
Credit: bbc.com
