[Source: Reuters]

Hospitals and clinics across India turned away patients except for emergency cases on Saturday as medical professionals staged a 24-hour shutdown in protest over the rape and murder of a doctor this month in the eastern city of Kolkata.

More than one million doctors were expected to join the strike, paralyzing medical services across the world’s most populous nation. Hospitals said faculty staff from medical colleges had been pressed into service for emergency cases.

The government, in a statement issued on Saturday after a meeting with representatives of medical associations, urged doctors to return to duties in the public interest. The government would set up a committee to suggest measures to improve protection for healthcare professionals, it said.

In response, the Indian Medical Association said it was studying the government offer, but it did not call off the strike, which was due to end at 6 a.m.(0030 GMT) on Sunday.

The walk-out was the latest action in response to the killing of a 31-year-old trainee doctor last week inside the medical college in Kolkata where she worked.

The crime has triggered nationwide protests among medical workers and a public outpouring of anger over violence against women reminiscent of what followed the notorious gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a bus in New Delhi in 2012.3

The strike halted access to elective medical procedures and outpatient consultations, according to the Indian Medical Association.

There was a heavy police presence outside Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College where the woman was killed, while the hospital premises were deserted, according to the ANI news agency.

Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of West Bengal, which includes Kolkata, has backed the protests across the state. Her government announced on Saturday evening measures to improve security for women working night shifts, including designated restrooms and safe zones monitored by cameras.

It also asked private institutions to consider measures such as night patrols to make the working environment more secure for women.

India’s Central Bureau of Investigation has so far detained one suspect in the case.

The CBI summoned several medical students from the college as part of its investigation, according to a police source in Kolkata, who said the agency also questioned the principal of the hospital on Friday.

There were protests throughout the day in Kolkata, led by doctors, civil society members and political leaders. A large number of private clinics and diagnostic centres were closed.

Dr Sandip Saha, a private paediatrician in the city, told Reuters he would not attend to patients except in emergencies.

Hospitals and clinics in Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, Ahmedabad in Gujarat, Guwahati in Assam and Chennai in Tamil Nadu and other cities joined the strike, set to be one of the largest shutdowns of hospital services in recent memory.