The young doctor who was brutally raped and murdered while she was resting early on Friday after her night shift did not have a social media account.

She chose not to use a photograph on her WhatsApp display profile either, a doctor close to her said. “Her only friends were books,” he said.

“The air of dignity she maintained would not allow anyone to breach her privacy. She was a very quiet and private person who had few friends,” recalled the colleague at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

The woman who had very few friends and chose to spend time mostly reading — books or on her laptop — had all the time to explain to her patients what ailed them or what complex reports said about their health condition.

“She was a textbook doctor,” another colleague recalled on Saturday.

“While diagnosing a patient, she would make sure all the tests were conducted and there was scientific backing for whatever conclusion she would reach.

“If a patient would ask about the diagnosis, she would patiently explain the cause and details of the problem with supporting clinical reports. She was extremely thorough,” the colleague added.

The only child of her parents, the young woman went to a local school on the city’s northern fringes. She studied MBBS from a medical college outside Calcutta.

A doctor junior to her spoke about how she would help juniors if anyone sought any academic help.

“Our conversations were limited to academic discussions. She was extremely helpful when it came to studies. Other than on academic issues, she would converse very little. She was a very reserved person,” said the young doctor who studied MBBS from the same college as the woman.

The woman’s father, who was the first to receive a call about her death, said she had very few friends.

“She had very few (friends). She would talk about them sometimes at the dinner table with us,” the bereaved father said.

A young doctor recounted an account after she got enrolled as a postgraduate trainee at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital and shifted to Calcutta.

“She was so happy that day. We had all asked for a treat. She promised us momos from a shop in New Town. Unfortunately, she will not be able to keep her promise. I still cannot believe what happened,” he said.