Indian medical professionals started a 24-hour shutdown of non-emergency services across the country on Saturday in protest against the brutal rape and murder of a doctor in the eastern city of Kolkata.

The shutdown, which began at 6 a.m. (0030 GMT), will cut off access to elective medical procedures and out-patient consultations in the world's most populous nation, according to a statement by the Indian Medical Association.

Casualty departments at hospitals, which deal with emergencies, will continue to be staffed.

A 31-year old trainee doctor was raped and murdered last week inside a medical college in Kolkata where she worked, triggering nationwide protests among doctors and drawing parallels to the notorious gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a moving bus in New Delhi in 2012.

Anger at the failure of tough laws to deter a rising tide of violence against women has fuelled protests by doctors and women's groups.

"Women form the majority of our profession in this country. Time and again, we have asked for safety for them," IMA President R. V. Asokan told Reuters on Friday.

More than a million medics were expected to join the strike.