[Source: BBC News]

Doctors in India have begun a national strike, escalating the protest against the rape and murder of a female colleague in the West Bengal city of Kolkata.

The Indian Medical Association (IMA), the country’s largest grouping of doctors, said all non-essential hospital services would be shut down across the country on Saturday.

Protests against the attack and calling for the better protection of women have intensified in recent days after a mob vandalized the hospital where it happened.

In a statement, the IMA said emergency and casualty services would continue to run and that the strike would last for 24 hours.

Doctors at some government hospitals announced earlier this week that they were indefinitely halting elective procedures.

The IMA also issued a list of demands including the strengthening of the law to better protect medical staff against violence, increasing the level of security at hospitals and the creation of safe spaces for rest.

It called for a “meticulous and professional investigation” into the killing and the prosecution of those involved in vandalizing, as well as compensation for the woman’s family.

The rape of the 31-year-old female trainee doctor has shocked the country.

Her half-naked body bearing extensive injuries was discovered in a seminar hall at R G Kar Medical College last week after she was reported to have gone there to rest during her shift.

A volunteer who worked at the hospital has been arrested in connection with the crime.

The case has been transferred from local police to India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) following criticism of the lack of progress.