Her Story
What happened to her
She was a postgraduate trainee doctor, on duty overnight at R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata — one of thousands of young resident doctors who keep India’s public hospitals running through the night, often with little rest and less security.
In the early hours of 9 August 2024, her body was found inside a seminar hall on the hospital premises. A post-mortem confirmed she had been raped and murdered while at work, inside the institution meant to keep her safe.
Kolkata Police arrested a civic volunteer, Sanjay Roy, the next day. But the case did not stay a single, simple story for long. Within days, allegations surfaced of altered crime-scene evidence, a slow and reluctant initial response from hospital and police authorities, and a culture of intimidation inside the college that had let earlier warnings go unheard.
What began as grief turned into a nationwide reckoning. Resident doctors walked out in protest across India. On the night of 14 August 2024, lakhs of women joined “Reclaim the Night” marches in Kolkata and beyond — refusing to accept that the price of being a woman at work was fear. The Supreme Court opened a suo motu hearing into the safety of medical professionals in government hospitals nationwide.
Why “Abhaya”
“Her real name is protected by law, as is every survivor’s. We call her Abhaya — the fearless one — because that is what an entire profession became in her name.”
Indian law prohibits identifying victims of sexual violence. This page honours that by using only the name the public movement gave her.