On Friday, the junior doctor’s body was found at at Kolkata’s R G Kar Medical College & Hospital seminar hall, with police saying she was raped and murdered.

At her three-storey house, a nameplate remains, spelling out her stream of specialisation. Hung there when she began her second year of postgraduate studies, it’s now a reminder of the life lost.

“I wanted her to be safe so she preferred to travel privately. She was safe on the road but not as a doctor on duty at her hospital,” the father said.

Those who know her describe her as an exceptionally bright student and an empathetic doctor who was always willing to help. She would always be held up as an example for others to follow, her uncle told The Indian Express.

“She secured a good rank in medical and engineering entrance exams, but chose to follow her heart,” her father said. “She graduated with an MBBS degree from a Nadia hospital in 2018.”

After this, she studied for two more years to secure a spot in a government college to pursue her preferred stream. According to her father, she had two options — JNM Kalyani Medical College and RG Kar. “We all thought, with RG Kar, she would be in the metro city with better facilities,” he said.

On the day of the incident, she was the on-call doctor in her department, a source at the hospital said. The family said they spoke to her on Friday evening. “She called to ask us if we had dinner and told us that she would come home tomorrow,” her mother said.

According to a source, she went to the seminar room — where hospital staff usually took their break — early Friday.  “She informed her colleagues of her whereabouts,” the source said.

The family said they got a call Friday morning that she was unwell and they should go to the hospital.” While on our way, I called the same number to ask about her condition. Whoever answered was very rude, saying, ‘Are we doctors to tell you what happened to her?’ This made us very suspicious,” the father said. At the hospital, their suspicions grew. “They were made to sit in the principal’s room for over an hour before they were allowed to see the body,” her uncle said.

According to neighbours, her empathy made her willing to help people and earned her the nickname ‘doctor didi’. It was her that people would turn to during Covid for the smallest advice.

“When my husband was unwell late at night with high fever and diarrhoea, I asked for her help. She gave him medicines and by morning, he was better,” said one neighbour.

At the R G Kar hospital, her colleagues are shaken. “We were on the same floor the day before,” recalls a shocked student.

A batchmate from her MBBS days said: “Most dignified, most humble, and very knowledgeable… She was always available for me and others like me whenever we wanted to know something. Such a dignified woman was killed so brutally.”

At home, her mother was inconsolable. All she ever wanted was for her daughter to be a successful medical professional.  “When we saw the body, my world shattered. How could that be my same daughter who spoke to me just a few hours ago,” her mother said.

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