Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly V.D. Satheesan has slammed the police negligence for the murder of a young woman doctor at Kottarakara Government Taluk Hospital, Kollam district on Wednesday.
Addressing the media in Sulthan Bathery, Mr. Satheesan criticised the police for their failure to take adequate precautions when taking a detainee, reportedly a drug addict, to the hospital. He emphasised that this oversight led to the untimely death of the doctor, Vandana Das, who was her parents’ only child.
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Mr. Satheesan also urged a comprehensive investigation into the incident, stressing the importance of holding those accountable for this heartbreaking tragedy.
Coming down heavily on Health Minister Veena George for her comments that the doctor was inexperienced and got scared, Mr. Satheesan remarked that it was fortunate the Minister had not yet demanded that healthcare workers learn martial arts like Karate and Kalari for self-defence.
He underscored the existence of a plethora of laws and acts, including the Medical Establishment Act, designed to safeguard the job of doctors and healthcare staff.
Nevertheless, the State government’s glaring failure to cultivate a secure atmosphere in healthcare institutions remained an issue, Mr. Satheesan said, stressing that such predicaments should be unequivocally absent from these establishments.
Furthermore, he lamented the persistent neglect in addressing health-care workers’ grievances effectively.
In a sardonic comment, Mr. Satheesan also proposed that Ms. George’s name be immortalised in the Guinness Book of World Records as the Minister responsible for issuing the most investigation orders during her term.
The murder of the young doctor and the boat tragedy were the results of the alleged apathy on the part of the government, Mr. Satheesan added.
