Parents remember their daughter who was murdered in an Indian hospital

The rape and murder of a doctor-in-training in the Indian city of Calcutta earlier this month sparked massive outrage across the country. Tens of thousands of people protested in the streets demanding justice. BBC Hindi spoke to the doctor's parents, who remember their daughter as a bright young woman who wanted to live a good life and provide for her family.

All names and family details have been removed as Indian law prohibits revealing the identity of a rape victim or her family.

“Please make sure Dad takes his medication on time. Don't worry about me.”

This was the last thing the 31-year-old doctor said to her mother, hours before she was brutally attacked in the hospital where she worked.

“The next day we tried to reach her, but the phone kept ringing,” the mother told the BBC in the family home in a narrow alley a few kilometers from Calcutta.

That same morning, the doctor's partially clothed body with severe injuries was discovered in the seminar hall. A hospital volunteer was arrested in connection with the crime.

The incident sparked massive outrage throughout the country, with Protests in several major cities. Over the weekend, doctors in Indian hospitals held a nationwide strike called by the Indian Medical Association (IMA). Only emergency services were available in the major hospitals.

The family says they are devastated by the loss.

“At 62, all my dreams have been shattered,” her father told the BBC.

Since the brutal murder of her daughter, her house, located in a prestigious area, has been the focus of intense media scrutiny.

Dozens of journalists and cameramen stand behind a police cordon, hoping to film the parents if they leave the house.

A group of 10 to 15 police officers stands guard at all times to ensure that the cameras do not take photos of the victim's house.

The crime took place on the night of August 9 when the woman, a junior doctor at the city's RG Kar Medical College, had gone to a seminar room to rest after a grueling 36-hour shift.

Her parents remembered that the young doctor, their only child, was a passionate student who worked extremely hard to become a doctor.

“We come from a lower middle-class family and built everything ourselves. When she was little, we had financial problems,” says her father, who is a tailor.

The living room where he sat was crammed with tools from his profession – a sewing machine, spools of thread and a heavy iron. Scraps of fabric were scattered on the floor.

There were times when the family did not even have money to buy pomegranates, their daughter's favorite fruit, he continued.

“But she could never bring herself to ask for anything for herself.”

“People said, 'You can't make your daughter a doctor.' But my daughter proved everyone wrong and got accepted into a government medical college,” he added, bursting into tears. A relative tried to console him.

The mother remembered that her daughter wrote in her diary every night before going to bed.

“She wrote that she wanted to win a gold medal for her medical degree. She wanted to live a good life and take care of us too,” she said quietly.

And she did.

The father, who suffers from high blood pressure, said his daughter always made sure that he took his medication on time.

“One time I ran out of medicine and thought I'd just buy it the next day. But she found out and even though it was about 10 or 11 p.m. at night, she said no one would eat until the medicine arrived,” he said.

“That's how she was – she never let me worry.”

Her mother listened attentively, her hands repeatedly touching a gold bracelet on her wrist – a bracelet she had bought together with her daughter.

The parents said their daughter's wedding was almost finalized. “But she told us not to worry and that she would continue to take care of all our expenses even after the wedding,” the father said.

As he spoke these words, the mother began to cry and her soft sobs echoed in the background.

Occasionally her gaze wandered to the stairs that led up to her daughter’s room.

The door has been locked since August 10th and the parents have not entered it since the news of the death.

They say they still can't believe that something “so barbaric” could happen to their daughter at their workplace.

“The hospital should be a safe place,” said the father.

Violence against women is a major problem in India – in 2022, an average of 90 rapes were reported per day, according to government figures.

The parents said their daughter’s death brought back memories of a Fall 2012 when a 22-year-old physiotherapy intern was gang-raped on a moving bus in the capital Delhi. Her injuries were fatal.

After the attack, which made headlines around the world and led to weeks of protests, India tightened laws against sexual violence.

However, the number of reported cases of sexual assault has increased and access to justice remains a challenge for women.

Last week, thousands took part in a March “Reclaim the Night” in Kolkata to demand safety for women across the country.

The doctor's case also highlights the challenges facing health care workers as they demand a thorough and impartial investigation into the killing and federal legislation to protect workers – especially women – at work.

Federal Health Minister JP Nadda has assured doctors that he will take strict measures to ensure greater safety in their professional environment.

But for the doctor’s parents it is too little and too late.

“We want the harshest punishment for the perpetrator,” said the father.

“Our state, our country and the entire world demand justice for our daughter.”