CBS News
New protests over rape and murder of Indian doctor see police use water cannon, tear gas on demonstrators
New Delhi — Thousands of angry students and other protesters marched on the streets of eastern Indian city of Kolkata in the West Bengal state on Tuesday demanding justice for a doctor who was brutally raped and killed earlier this month at a city hospital.
The police used water cannon and tear gas to disperse protesters who were on their way to the state secretariat building to demand the resignation of Mamata Banerjee, chief minister of the West Bengal state, whom they accuse of mishandling the case.
Indian TV networks aired videos showing protesters climbing barricades that had been placed at the Howrah Bridge, as police used water cannons to stop them.
DIBYANGSHU SARKAR/AFP/Getty
The brutalized body of a 31-year-old doctor was found with multiple injuries in a lecture hall at the state-run R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on Aug. 9. The female doctor had gone to the lecture hall to rest during a night shift when she was attacked. An autopsy confirmed sexual assault and multiple injuries sustained before she died, suggesting she resisted and may have been tortured before being murdered.
The Kolkata Police arrested a volunteer member of the force on Aug. 10 and have charged him with rape and murder, but the brutality of the case has drawn nationwide outrage, with medics across the country demanding safer workplaces and citizens demanding safety for women in a country with a shameful record of rape.
Doctors at public hospitals across India refused to work last week, turning away all but emergency patients as part of a national strike over the rape and murder.
Kolkata police had turned the city into a virtual fortress ahead of Tuesday’s planned protest, barricading all roads leading to the state secretariat and deploying 6,000 personnel in full riot gear. The police said they had not given permission for the protest march, and the Trinamool Congress party, which is in power in West Bengal state, alleged that it was an attempt by opposition parties to create unrest in the city.
Police clashed with the protesters Tuesday morning as some of the crowd managed to climb over the barricades, but the demonstrators were stopped before they could reach the state secretariat.
DIBYANGSHU SARKAR/AFP/Getty
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is the opposition in West Bengal, claimed several students were injured Tuesday amid the clashes with the police and called for a new, 12-hour general strike in the state on Wednesday to protest the response.
India’s federal Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI), which was tasked with investigating the rape-murder in Kolkata, subjected the prime suspect, Sanjay Roy, to a polygraph test last week, the results of which were yet to be released Tuesday. Many in the country hope the results will shed new light on whether other people could have been involved in the attack, as has been suggested by the victim’s father.
India reported an average of nearly 90 rapes per day in 2022, according to the most recent data available from the National Crime Records Bureau. Experts believe the real number could be much higher, as many rapes go unreported due to prevailing stigmas around sexual violence and a lack of faith in police investigations. Conviction rates remain low, with many cases becoming mired for years in India’s overwhelmed criminal justice system.
Tupperware and some of its subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the once-iconic food container maker said in a statement late Tuesday.
The company has suffered from dwindling sales following a surprise surge during the COVID-19 pandemic, when legions of people stuck at home tried their hands at cooking, which increased demand for Tupperware’s colorful plastic containers with flexible airtight seals.
A post-pandemic rise in costs of raw materials and shipping, along with higher wages, also hurt Tupperware’s bottom line.
Last year, it warned of “substantial doubt” about its ability to keep operating in light of its poor financial position.
“Over the last several years, the Company’s financial position has been severely impacted by the challenging macroeconomic environment,” president and CEO Laurie Ann Goldman said in a statement announcing the bankruptcy filing.
“As a result, we explored numerous strategic options and determined this is the best path forward,” Goldman said.
The company said it would seek court approval for a sale process for the business to protect its brand and “further advance Tupperware’s transformation into a digital-first, technology-led company.”
The Orlando, Florida-based firm said it would also seek approval to continue operating during the bankruptcy proceedings and would continue to pay its employees and suppliers.
“We plan to continue serving our valued customers with the high-quality products they love and trust throughout this process,” Goldman said.
The firm’s shares were trading at $0.5099 Monday, well down from $2.55 in December last year.
Tupperware said it had implemented a strategic plan to modernize its operations and drive efficiencies to ignite growth following the appointment of a new management team last year.
“The Company has made significant progress and intends to continue this important transformation work.”
In its filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, Tupperware listed assets of between $500 million and $1 billion and liabilities of between $1 billion and $10 billion.
The filing also said it had between 50,000 and 100,000 creditors.
Tupperware lost popularity with consumers in recent years and an initiative to gain distribution through big-box chain Target failed to reverse its fortunes.
The company’s roots date to 1946, when chemist Earl Tupper “had a spark of inspiration while creating molds at a plastics factory shortly after the Great Depression,” according to Tupperware’s website.
“If he could design an airtight seal for plastic storage containers, like those on a paint can, he could help war-weary families save money on costly food waste.”
Over time, Tupper’s containers became popular that many people referred to any plastic food container as Tupperware. And people even threw “Tupperware parties” in their homes to sell the containers to friends and neighbors.
Watch CBS News
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
Watch CBS News
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
