The elite of the Indian police force today took over the investigation into the rape and murder of a young nurse, a crime that caused outrage in the country and led doctors in public hospitals to go on strike.

The body of the 31-year-old woman was found on Friday, with multiple injuries, at a public hospital where she worked in Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal state.

A post-mortem examination confirmed that the unfortunate woman was raped and murdered.

The Calcutta high court yesterday handed over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation, an elite unit of the police, to “inspire confidence in the public».

In a request submitted to the court, the parents of the young woman said that they suspect that their daughter was the victim of a gang rape, reports the Indian television network NDTV.

Doctors working in public hospitals in several Indian states have suspended non-emergency care “indefinitely”, demanding justice and additional safety measures at their workplaces.

Police have arrested a man who worked at the same hospital as the victim, but the officers are accused of mishandling the case.

Sexual violence against women is very common in Indiawhere an average of nearly 90 rapes were reported per day in 2022 in this country of 1.4 billion people.