Union Minister of State for Women and Child Development Savitri Thakur on Friday slammed the West Bengal government over the rape and murder of a trainee woman doctor at a government hospital in Calcutta, accusing it of protecting the accused in the case.

Talking to PTI here, Thakur said instead of taking strict action against the accused involved in the incident, the Mamata Banerjee-led government had protected them.

"A woman doctor who saved lives was raped and murdered. This incident in Kolkata is unfortunate. Banerjee, as a woman chief minister, should have taken immediate steps, and strict action should have been taken against the accused. But the state government continued to protect them," she claimed.

The Union minister further alleged that the West Bengal government was complicit in the incident.

On August 9, the police recovered the body of a woman postgraduate trainee doctor from the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. The incident triggered widespread protests by doctors and political parties across the country.

Expressing concern over the safety of half of West Bengal's population, Thakur said there have been several incidents of rape in the state.

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