Kolkata doctor’s rape case: Parents remember daughter who was murdered in India hospital

The crime took place on the night of 9 August, when the woman, who was a junior doctor at the city’s RG Kar Medical College, had gone to a seminar room to rest after a gruelling 36-hour shift.

Her parents remembered how the young doctor, their only child, was a passionate student who worked extremely hard to become a doctor.

“We come from a lower middle-class background and built everything on our own. When she was little, we struggled financially,” said the father, who is a tailor.

The living room where he sat was cluttered with tools from his profession – a sewing machine, spools of thread and a heavy iron. There were scraps of fabrics scattered on the floor.

There were times when the family did not have money to even buy pomegranates, their daughter’s favourite fruit, he continued.

“But she could never bring herself to ask for anything for herself.”

“People would say, ‘You can’t make your daughter a doctor’. But my daughter proved everyone wrong and got admission in a government-run medical college,” he added, breaking down. A relative tried to console him.

The mother recalled how her daughter would write in her diary every night before going to bed.

“She wrote that she wanted to win a gold medal for her medical degree. She wanted to lead a good life and take care of us too,” she said softly.

And she did.

The father, who is a high blood-pressure patient, said their daughter always made sure he took his medicines on time.

“Once I ran out of medicine and thought I’d just buy it the next day. But she found out, and even though it was around 10 or 11pm at night, she said no-one will eat until the medicine is here,” he said.

“That’s how she was – she never let me worry about anything.”

Her mother listened intently, her hands repeatedly touching a gold bangle on her wrist – a bangle she had bought with her daughter.