A terrible crime has taken place, and the nation’s conscience has been justifiably shaken. A 31-year-old doctor, known by many as a cheery and smiling presence, was assaulted and killed, shockingly in a place of healing—a hospital, the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. The accused Sanjoy Roy, a civic police volunteer at the same hospital, allegedly crept up on her at night when she was snatching a few hours of sleep in the hospital’s seminar room. On the morning of 9 August, she lay dead, the victim of a savage attack by a vicious, cold-blooded “sexual pervert.”
Waves of protest erupted. Anguished citizens poured into the streets. The Bengal opposition levelled charges. Yet urgent questions still remain unanswered: what is happening to our society? Why is it that in 21st century India, professional women are still in such grave danger?
