This Week in Explainers: What happened in the Kolkata rape case that led to doctors’ protests in India?

This week India celebrated its 77th year of Independence. From the ramparts of Red Fort, Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered his 11th consecutive Independence Day speech on August 15. But this week also saw an outrage and an anger from the country’s medical professionals over the brutal rape and murder of a junior doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

Apart from this, the country also saw the reprisal of the Hindenburg-Adani saga, with the US-based research firm levelling accusations that chairperson of the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), Madhabi Puri Buchh, had a conflict of interest in the Adani matter due to previous investments.

The country welcomed back its Olympian medallists too this week, with Prime Minister Modi felicitating them on their success at the Paris Games.

Here’s all this and much more in our weekly wrap from India.

1) Last weekend, came the horrific news of a 31-year-old trainee doctor being raped and murdered in the wee hours inside RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. Later, the police arrested an accused, who is a civil volunteer, for the crime. However, autopsy and post-mortem investigations showed an abnormal amount of semen in the victim’s body. This finding led to the suggestion that the 31-year-old may have been gang-raped. Why? Read here to find out.

2) Since news broke of the rape of the 31-year-old trainee doctor at the RG Kar Medical College, junior doctors across the country have gone on strike, impacting patients, protesting the horrendous crime and the lack of safety measures for doctors at their workplace. However, the matter, has also spawned a political battle between the three main parties — Trinamool Congress, BJP and Communist Party of India (Marxist) — in the state of West Bengal. We explain how.

3) On Thursday (August 15), India celebrated its 78th Independence Day with much vigour and enthusiasm. The day began with PM Modi addressing the nation from New Delhi’s Red Fort for a record 98 minutes. Without making a mention of the Kolkata rape, he spoke about the prevalent outrage in the country over crimes against women. He also emphasised the need for speedy investigation and punishment to restore public trust. What else did the PM speak about in his record-breaking speech? Our explainer tells you all.

4) On the topic of Modi’s Independence Day speech, the PM also highlighted how the country’s “space sector is opening up new future for us”. And that became even more evident on August 16 with the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) successful launch of the Earth Observation Satellite (EOS-08) aboard the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV-D3). Why is this mission special? What is the significance of this launch? We explain it here .

5) Away from the news of Independence Day and the RG Kar rape horror, the country also saw the Adani-Hindenburg saga 2.0. The US-based investor-activist firm made headlines when it released a report that claimed that the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) chief Madhubi Puri Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch had investments since 2015 in offshore firms owned by Vinod Adani, Gautam Adani’s brother. Hindenburg called this a conflict of interest as Sebi was tasked with investigating Gautam Adani’s conglomerate on previous allegations of wrongdoing and stock price manipulation. What followed were claims and counter-claims. This explainer tells you all.

6) The 2024 Olympic Games are over and India came in 71st with six medals — five bronze and one silver. The medallists returned to the country amid much fanfare and celebrations. Most of them have also been handed hefty financial bonuses from the Centre and the state governments, thanking them for their performance. But are these cash prizes taxed? We explain .

7) Planning on doing an MBA? Then this is something that may interest you. India’s top business school graduates are in for a tough time. Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) have seen a slow placement season this year, with median pay for freshers stagnating. At IIM-Kozhikode, the median salary remained Rs 27 lakh, unchanged from the previous year. IIM-Lucknow saw a drop in median pay from Rs 30 lakh in 2023 to Rs 27 lakh for the 2024 batch. However, these institutes have raised fees for future students, citing rising costs. Here’s what’s happening at these top-notch schools and how it’s affecting the youth.

That’s all for this week. Your Saturday reading list is ready. And if you’d like to delve deep into the news with us, you can come back for more explainers here .