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full screen Demonstrators protesting the authorities’ way of investigating a rape-murder are subjected to tear gas from the police. Photo: Bikas Das/AP/TT
Police have fired tear gas at protesters in Calcutta (Kolkata), India, after widespread protests erupted against authorities’ handling of a case of gang-rape that ended in murder.
The crime took place earlier in August, when a provincial doctor in Calcutta was sexually assaulted and then murdered. The case is causing outrage and has led to major protests – not least from India’s ruling party, which is in opposition in the province of West Bengal in the north-east of the country.
In Tuesday’s protests, the resignation of politicians was demanded because of the way the criminal investigation was conducted.
The murder of the 31-year-old doctor, who worked at a hospital in the provincial capital Calcutta, has also sparked wider criticism of the recurring violence that many women face in India.
The violent police action came after protesters belonging to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP (Bharatiya Janata) party broke through a police cordon. Police had banned the demonstration.