BBC Hindi spoke to the doctor’s parents who remember their daughter as a clever, young woman who wanted to lead a good life and take care of her family.
All names and details of the family have been removed as Indian laws prohibit identifying a rape victim or her family.
This was the last thing the 31-year-old doctor said to her mother, hours before she was brutally assaulted in a hospital where she worked.
Behind a police barricade stand dozens of journalists and camera crew, hoping to capture the parents in case they step out.
Her parents remembered how the young doctor, their only child, was a passionate student who worked extremely hard to become a doctor.
The mother recalled how her daughter would write in her diary every night before going to bed.
The father, who is a high blood-pressure patient, said their daughter always made sure he took his medicines on time.
Last week, thousands participated in a Reclaim the Night march held in Kolkata to demand safety for women across the country.
Tens of thousands of Indians have taken to the streets to demand justice following the rape and murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata earlier this month, causing widespread outrage throughout the nation. The parents of the doctor, who were interviewed by BBC Hindi, described their daughter as a bright young lady who aspired to be a good woman and take care of her family.
Because it’s illegal in India to identify a rape victim or her family, all names and information about the family have been deleted.
“Please remember to give dad his medication on time. Never mind about me. “.”.
Hours before she was viciously attacked in the hospital where she worked, this was the last thing the 31-year-old doctor said to her mother.
The mother told the BBC that their family lived in a small alley a few kilometers from Kolkata. “The next day, we tried reaching her but the phone kept ringing,” she said.
The doctor’s body was found in the seminar hall that same morning, partially clothed and covered in injuries. A volunteer at the hospital has been taken into custody in relation to the offense.
Nationwide indignation over the incident has resulted in protests in a number of major cities. The Indian Medical Association (IMA) called for a nationwide strike by doctors across all hospitals in India over the weekend, with only emergency services offered at larger facilities.
The family claims that their loss has left them feeling empty.
“All my dreams have been shattered at the age of 62,” her father stated to the BBC.
Their home, which is in a reputable neighborhood, has come under intense media scrutiny since their daughter’s horrifying murder.
Dozens of journalists and camera crew are positioned behind a police barricade in the hopes of capturing the parents should they decide to leave.
To make sure the cameras don’t capture pictures of the victim’s home, a contingent of ten to fifteen police officers constantly stand watch.
The woman, a junior physician at the city’s RG Kar Medical College, went to a seminar room on the evening of August 9 to unwind after a demanding 36-hour shift.
Her parents recalled that their only child, the young doctor, was a dedicated learner who put in a lot of effort to become a doctor.
We are from a lower middle class family and did everything ourselves. We had financial difficulties when she was younger,” the tailor’s father remarked.
Sewing machine, spools of thread, heavy iron, and other tools of his trade littered the living room where he sat. The floor was covered in strewn-about fabric remnants.
He went on, “There were times when the family did not even have enough money to buy pomegranates, which is their daughter’s favorite fruit.”.
But she was never able to make herself ask for anything. “.
“You can’t make your daughter a doctor,’ people would say. But my daughter disproved everyone and was accepted into a government-run medical school,” he sobbed as he continued. A family member made an attempt to comfort him.
Every night before going to bed, the mother remembered how her daughter would write in her diary.
“In her letter, she expressed her desire to receive a gold medal for her medical degree. She humbly said, “She wanted to live a decent life and look out for us too.
She followed through.
The father stated that their daughter always made sure he took his medications on time. The father suffers from high blood pressure.
I once ran out of medication and decided to buy more the following day. However, when she learned, she declared that nobody would eat until the medication arrived, even though it was only around 10 or 11 p.m., he added.
She always made sure I didn’t have any worries. “.
Her mother listened carefully, her hands going back and forth across a gold bracelet she had purchased with her daughter.
It was almost official, according to the parents, that their daughter would marry. The father remarked, “But she would assure us not to worry and that she would cover all of our costs even after we got married.
The mother started crying as he was saying those things, her gentle sobs resonating in the background.
Her gaze would occasionally stray to the stairs that led to their daughter’s room.
Since learning of her passing on August 10, the door has remained closed, and her parents have not been inside.
Their daughter’s workplace has been the scene of something “so barbaric” that they claim they still find hard to believe.
The father declared, “There should be safety in the hospital.”.
India has a serious problem with violence against women; in 2022, there were 90 recorded rapes per day on average, according to government statistics.
In 2012, a 22-year-old physiotherapy intern was gang-raped on a moving bus in Delhi, the capital, and her parents claimed that their daughter’s passing had brought back memories of that incident. She suffered fatal injuries.
India reinforced its anti-sexual violence laws after the assault, which made headlines throughout the world and sparked weeks of protests.
However, there have been more reported cases of sexual assault, and women still face barriers to accessing the legal system.
Thousands of people joined the Reclaim the Night march in Kolkata last week to call for women’s safety nationwide.
The doctor’s case has also drawn attention to the difficulties faced by healthcare professionals, who have called for a federal law to protect them—especially women—at work and a comprehensive and unbiased investigation into the murder.
JP Nadda, the federal minister of health, has given doctors his word that stringent measures will be implemented to improve workplace safety.
It is, however, too little, too late for the doctor’s parents.
The father declared, “We want the culprit to receive the harshest punishment possible.”.
“We demand justice for our daughter on behalf of our state, our nation, and the entire world. “.”.
