インド研修医暴行殺人、抗議デモが対立政党支持者間の衝突に

【コルカタＡＦＰ＝時事】インド東部・西ベンガル州の州都コルカタ（旧カルカッタ）で２７日、研修医に対する性的暴行殺人事件に抗議する大規模なデモが、対立政党の支持者同士による乱闘に発展した。（写真は、研修医の性的暴行殺人事件に抗議するデモで、デモ隊を解散させるために用いられた放水銃）
　今月９日、コルカタの公立病院で女性研修医（３１）が血まみれの遺体となって発見された事件を受け、インド全土で医師らによるストライキや市民による抗議デモが起きた。特に事件が起きた病院のあるコルカタでは、デモが繰り返し行われている。
　ところがデモは徐々に、州与党である「全インド草の根会議派（ＡＩＴＭＣ）」と、同州では野党となるインド人民党（ＢＪＰ）の支持者による衝突に発展。ＢＪＰ支持者がＡＩＴＭＣのマムタ・バナジー州首相の辞任を要求すると、２７日には警官隊が衝突を鎮圧するために催涙ガスや放水砲を使用し、少なくとも２４５人が逮捕された。
　翌２８日朝には、ＢＪＰの支持者がコルカタ市内にバリケードを設置し、道路や鉄道線路の封鎖を開始。警察は市内および隣接する地区で、対立する労働者間の衝突を報告した。
　他方で医師らは２８日、殺害された研修医の追悼集会を予定している。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/08/29-16:53）

Thousands of protesters clashed in India's eastern city of Kolkata on Wednesday, where demonstrations seeking justice for a murdered doctor spiralled into violent street skirmishes between political rivals.
The discovery of the 31-year-old doctor's bloodied body at a state-run hospital in Kolkata on August 9 stoked nationwide anger at the chronic issue of violence against women.
That sparked strikes by medics and rallies backed by thousands of ordinary citizens across India, although many doctors have since returned to work.
But repeated protests in West Bengal state capital Kolkata have transformed into clashes between the state's ruling All India Trinamool Congress (AITMC) and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The Hindu-nationalist BJP is the party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and holds power nationally, but sits in opposition in West Bengal.
We want justice, BJP supporters chanted, referring to the murdered doctor, then demanding the resignation of AITMC leader Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister.
Go back! Go back! AITMC supporters shouted in return.
Banerjee accused the BJP of dirty politics and exploiting the doctor's death, speaking at a rally of party loyalists.
On Tuesday, police clashed with protesters, firing tear gas canisters and water cannons, and arresting at least 245 people.
That prompted BJP supporters on Wednesday to launch a day-long shutdown of Kolkata, with skirmishes against AITMC supporters in the morning.
- 'Horrific' -
Protesters erected barricades to close roads and railway lines, with police reporting clashes between rival workers across the city and in adjoining districts.
Arjun Singh, a former BJP lawmaker, alleged his party loyalists were attacked by supporters of Banerjee's AITMC, and two people were injured.
AITMC activists blocked the roads to prevent BJP supporters from marching, Singh told AFP.
Train services were disrupted as protestors squatted on railway tracks, Kousik Mitra, a senior railways official told AFP.
Police later enforced an uneasy peace between them and their rivals.
Doctors, in a separate protest, are expected to hold a rally in memory of their murdered colleague later on Wednesday.
Banerjee also said she wanted to pass anti-rape laws to try and execute those guilty of sexual assault within seven days of the crime, without giving further details.
One man has been detained for the murder, but West Bengal's government has faced public criticism for the handling of the investigation.
India's Supreme Court has ordered a national task force to examine how to bolster security for healthcare workers, saying the horrific killing had shocked the conscience of the nation.
The gruesome nature of the attack has invoked comparisons with the horrific 2012 gang rape and murder of a young woman on a Delhi bus.
It became a major political issue, and was seen as one factor in the BJP's subsequent success in elections.
The attack also sparked widespread outrage in a country where sexual violence against women is endemic.
An average of nearly 90 rapes a day were reported in 2022 in the country of 1.4 billion people.