A 24-year-old nurse has been found dead at a nursing home in West Bengal’s Hooghly district, triggering protests and demands for a full investigation.
Police said the woman’s body was discovered on Thursday, hanging from the ceiling of a room on the third floor of the facility in Singur. She had joined the nursing home only four days earlier and was a resident of Nandigram in Purba Medinipur district. Her family alleged she was raped and murdered after uncovering irregularities in the running of the nursing home. They also accused police of taking her body for post-mortem examination without informing them. The nursing home’s management has denied the allegations, claiming she died by suicide.
The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) held demonstrations in the area, accusing the authorities of a cover-up. On Friday, BJP state women’s wing president Falguni Patra joined a protest at Serampore Walsh Hospital, where the body is being kept.
State minister and local Trinamool Congress MLA Becharam Manna said action would be taken if police found evidence of foul play.
Police have opened an investigation and said they were awaiting the autopsy report before proceeding further.
