Hospitals and clinics across India have begun turning away patients except for emergency cases as medical professionals started a 24-hour shutdown on Saturday in protest against the rape and murder of a doctor in the eastern city of Kolkata.

The strike, which began at 6am (0030 GMT), cut off access to elective medical procedures and outpatient consultations, according to a statement by the Indian Medical Association (IMA), the Guardian reported. 

Casualty departments at hospitals, which deal with emergencies, will continue to be staffed.

A 31-year-old trainee doctor was raped and murdered last week inside a medical college in Kolkata where she worked, triggering nationwide protests among doctors and drawing parallels to the notorious gang-rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a moving bus in New Delhi in 2012.