KOLKATA, India (AP) — Police in India fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse thousands of protesters demanding the resignation of a top elected official in the country's east, accusing her of mishandling an investigation into a rape and killing of a resident doctor earlier this month.
The Aug. 9 killing of the 31-year-old physician while on duty at Kolkata city’s R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital triggered protests across India, focusing on the chronic issue of violence against women in the country. Kolkata is the capital of West Bengal state.
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KOLKATA, India (AP) — Police in India fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse thousands of protesters demanding the resignation of a top elected official in the country's east, accusing her of mishandling an investigation into a rape and killing of a resident doctor earlier this month.
A policeman grabs protesters against the rape and murder of a resident doctor at a government hospital earlier this month, in Kolkata, India, Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Bikas Das)
A policeman hits a protester against the rape and murder of a resident doctor at a government hospital earlier this month, in Kolkata, India, Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Bikas Das)
A policeman hits a protester, protesting against the rape and murder of a resident doctor at a government hospital earlier this month, in Kolkata, India, Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Bikas Das)
A bloodied policeman after protestors against the rape and murder of a resident doctor at a government hospital earlier this month, threw stones in Kolkata, India, Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Bikas Das)
Protestors against the rape and murder of a resident doctor at a government hospital earlier this month, runs as police fire tear gas, in Kolkata, India, Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Bikas Das)
Police fire tear gas shells to disperse people protesting against the rape and murder of a resident doctor at a government hospital earlier this month, in Kolkata, India, Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Bikas Das)
Police fire tear gas shells to disperse people protesting against the rape and murder of a resident doctor at a government hospital earlier this month, in Kolkata, India, Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Bikas Das)
Police fire tear gas shells to disperse people protesting against the rape and murder of a resident doctor at a government hospital earlier this month, in Kolkata, India, Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Bikas Das)
Doctors protesting against the alleged rape and killing of a trainee doctor at a government hospital in Kolkata, hold placards during a protest rally in Hyderabad, India, Thursday, Aug.22, 2024. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)
The protesters say the assault highlights the vulnerability of health care workers in hospitals across India.
Protesters from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party tried to break the police cordon and march to the office of Mamta Banerjee, whose Trinamool Congress party rules the West Bengal state, and demanded her resignation.
Modi's party is the main opposition party in West Bengal. Police had banned its rally and blocked the roads.
Police officers wielding batons pushed back the demonstrators and fired tear gas and water cannons. Four student activists were arrested ahead of the rally, police said, accusing them of trying to orchestrate large-scale violence.
India’s top court last week set up a national task force of doctors to make recommendations on the safety of health care workers at the workplace. The Supreme Court said the panel would frame guidelines for the protection of medical professionals and health care workers nationwide.
An autopsy of the killed doctor later confirmed sexual assault, and a police volunteer was detained in connection with the crime. The family of the victim alleged it was a case of a gang rape and more were involved.
In the days since, mounting anger has boiled over into nationwide outrage and stirred protests over violence against women. The protests have also led thousands of doctors and paramedics to walk out of some public hospitals across India and demand a safer working environment. The walkouts have affected thousands of patients across India.
Women in India continue to face rising violence despite tough laws that were implemented following the gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a moving bus in Delhi in 2012.
That attack had inspired lawmakers to order harsher penalties for such crimes and set up fast-track courts dedicated to rape cases. The government also introduced the death penalty for repeat offenders.
Protesters throw stones towards police while protesting against the rape and murder of a resident doctor at a government hospital earlier this month, in Kolkata, India, Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Bikas Das)
A policeman grabs protesters against the rape and murder of a resident doctor at a government hospital earlier this month, in Kolkata, India, Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Bikas Das)
A policeman hits a protester against the rape and murder of a resident doctor at a government hospital earlier this month, in Kolkata, India, Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Bikas Das)
A policeman hits a protester, protesting against the rape and murder of a resident doctor at a government hospital earlier this month, in Kolkata, India, Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Bikas Das)
A bloodied policeman after protestors against the rape and murder of a resident doctor at a government hospital earlier this month, threw stones in Kolkata, India, Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Bikas Das)
Protestors against the rape and murder of a resident doctor at a government hospital earlier this month, runs as police fire tear gas, in Kolkata, India, Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Bikas Das)
Police fire tear gas shells to disperse people protesting against the rape and murder of a resident doctor at a government hospital earlier this month, in Kolkata, India, Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Bikas Das)
Police fire tear gas shells to disperse people protesting against the rape and murder of a resident doctor at a government hospital earlier this month, in Kolkata, India, Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Bikas Das)
Police fire tear gas shells to disperse people protesting against the rape and murder of a resident doctor at a government hospital earlier this month, in Kolkata, India, Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Bikas Das)
Doctors protesting against the alleged rape and killing of a trainee doctor at a government hospital in Kolkata, hold placards during a protest rally in Hyderabad, India, Thursday, Aug.22, 2024. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)
RANCHO PALOS VERDES, Calif. (AP) — Donald Trump refused on Friday to weigh in on recent racist and conspiratorial comments from right-wing provocateur Laura Loomer, who traveled with him earlier this week to the debate and several 9/11 memorial events.
“Laura’s been a supporter of mine,” Trump told reporters at a press conference near Los Angeles, where he was pressed on concerns from Republican allies about his ongoing association with Loomer.
“I don’t control Laura,” Trump said. “I can’t tell Laura what to do. She’s a supporter.”
Trump said Loomer has “strong opinions,” but said he was unaware of her recent comments, including a post on X in which she played on racist stereotypes by writing that “the White House will smell like curry & White House speeches will be facilitated via a call center” if his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, wins in November. Harris is the daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants.
Loomer's appearances on the campaign trail with Trump have alarmed many top supporters of the former president who worry he is hurting his chances of winning in November, particularly as Harris has driven up Democratic enthusiasm and repeatedly put Trump on the defensive in Tuesday's debate. Harris was campaigning Friday across Pennsylvania.
Loomer's comments have drawn rebuke from Trump allies including Republican firebrand Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. The Georgia congresswoman, herself known for spreading conspiracies, called the post about curry “appalling and extremely racist" and said it did not represent Trump's movement.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., called Loomer “a crazy conspiracy theorist who regularly utters disgusting garbage intended to divide Republicans. A DNC plant couldn’t do a better job than she is doing to hurt President Trump’s chances of winning re-election. Enough.”
Trump's comments came at a news conference at his Los Angeles-area golf club after days of criticism of his performance at this week's debate.
Trump, in remarks, unleashed against Harris a litany of attacks his aides had suggested he would focus on during the debate, including accusing her of having been soft on crime in her previous positions.
Before she served as vice president, Harris represented California in the Senate and also served as the state’s attorney general and the district attorney of San Francisco.
“She destroyed San Francisco and she destroyed the state,” Trump charged. He also assailed the ABC anchors who moderated the debate. He'll travel later Friday to northern California for a fundraiser, followed by a rally in Las Vegas, the largest city in swing state Nevada.
Harris has not publicly addressed Trump’s association with Loomer. But White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre this week called Loomer’s comments “repugnant.”
“No leader should ever associate with someone who spreads this kind of ugliness, this kind of racist poison,” Jean-Pierre told reporters.
Harris headed to Johnstown and Wilkes-Barre on Friday, campaigning in counties where Trump won in 2016 and 2020, as she tries to capitalize on her momentum after Tuesday night’s debate.
In Johnstown, she dropped in to meet with owners and supporters at Classic Elements, a bookstore and cafe, to discuss her plans to support small businesses if elected.
“Small businesses are so much part of the fabric of a community,” she told the shop owners. Harris said she would be in the state a lot and that “we got to earn every vote.”
It was her second day of back-to-back rallies after holding two events in North Carolina, another swing state, on Thursday. Her campaign is aiming to hit every market in every battleground state over four days, with stops by Harris, her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and other surrogates in Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona and Georgia.
While speaking in Charlotte, Harris took a victory lap for her debate performance in which she needled Trump and kept him on the defensive. Recounting one moment while campaigning in North Carolina, she mocked Trump for saying he had “concepts of a plan” for replacing the Affordable Care Act.
“Concepts. Concepts. No actual plan. Concepts,” she said as the crowd roared with laughter.
Her campaign said she raised $47 million from 600,000 donors in the 24 hours after her debate with Trump.
After appearing at his golf club in upscale Rancho Palos Verdes, Trump will head to a fundraiser in the afternoon in the Bay Area town of Woodside that is being hosted by billionaire software developer Tom Siebel and his wife, Stacey Siebel. Tom Siebel is the second cousin once removed of Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat and surrogate for Harris.
Attendees will pay at least $3,300 per person or raise $10,000 for the campaign, according to an invitation. Top-tier donors will get a photo, reception and roundtable, paying $500,000 for a couple to be on the host committee or $150,000 per person to be a co-host.
It’s Trump's second fundraising stop in California in as many days as he tries to make up fundraising ground against Harris.
Even before she raked in cash after the debate, the vice president reported raising $361 million in August from nearly 3 million donors, her first full month as a candidate after replacing President Joe Biden. Trump brought in $130 million over the same period. Harris’ campaign reported that it started September with $109 million more on hand than Trump’s did.
On Friday night, Trump heads to Las Vegas, where he’ll have a rally in the city’s downtown area. Trump was in the city last month for a brief stop to promote his proposal to end federal taxes on workers’ tips, something that’s expected to especially resonate in the tourist city, where much of the service-based economy includes workers who rely on tips. He announced a new proposal Thursday to end taxes on overtime pay.
The swing state is one that Trump narrowly lost in 2016 and 2020 and is among about half a dozen that both campaigns are heavily focused on.
Madhani reported from Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and Colvin from New York. Associated Press writers Michael R. Blood in Los Angeles, Chris Megerian in Washington and Tom Verdin in Sacramento contributed to this report.
Supporters wave as Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris arrives at John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria Airport, in Johnstown, Pa., for a campaign event, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris takes a selfie with Sen. John Letterman, D-Pa., and his wife Gisele Barreto Fetterman, after Harris arrived at John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria Airport, in Johnstown, Pa., for a campaign event, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives to speak during a news conference held at Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives to speak during a news conference held at Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference held at Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference held at Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference held at Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference held at Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference held at Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Greensboro, N.C. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley)
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference held at Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
