Protests sweep India over rape and murder of doctor

People hold posters during a vigil condemning the rape and murder of a trainee medic at a government-run hospital in Kolkata, on a street in Mumbai, India, August 14, 2024. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas

KOLKATA, India (Reuters) -Holding candles, hundreds of thousands of women marched through the night in cities across India, to protest the brutal rape and murder of a young female doctor in a hospital that has fueled anger over a lack of safety for women despite tough new laws.

A 31-year old trainee doctor was raped and murdered inside the medical college in Kolkata where she worked on Friday, triggering nationwide protests among doctors and drawing parallels to the notorious gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a moving bus in New Delhi in 2012.