Doctor stabbed to death in Kerala by man she was treating; HC calls it government, police failure

Kollam/Kochi/Thiruvananthapuram | A 23-year-old doctor was stabbed to death on Wednesday by a man whose leg wound she was dressing at a hospital in Kerala's Kollam district where he was brought after an alleged fight with his family members.

Dismayed over the killing of the young doctor, the Kerala High Court said the incident was an outcome of police and government failure and sought a report regarding the incident from the state police chief who was also asked to be present virtually when the matter is taken up on Thursday morning.

Coming down hard on the government and the police, the HC bench said it indicated their "failure" to protect doctors and was a "complete breakdown of the protectional system".

According to ADGP Law and Order M R Ajith Kumar, the incident occurred in the early hours of Wednesday when the accused, identified as Sandeep, a school teacher by profession, was being taken to the hospital for treatment of the wounds he had suffered allegedly due to a quarrel.

While the wound was being dressed by Dr Vandana Das, he suddenly got provoked and attacked everyone standing there using a pair of scissors and scalpel.

Das, who suffered grievous injuries in the attack, died a few hours later. The accused was apprehended.

The ADGP said that Sandeep had called on the emergency number 112 claiming that his life was in danger. When local police located him, he was standing 10-15 metres away from his home, surrounded by local residents and his relatives, and had a wound on his leg.

He was taken to the hospital in a police jeep and was accompanied by his brother-in-law and a local political party leader. While being examined by the casualty doctor, Sandeep was calm, the officer told reporters.

However, while his wound was being dressed, only his brother-in-law and the local political leader were present, and during the procedure, he kicked the relative. Thereafter, he grabbed a pair of surgical scissors and attacked those present in the room. When the police personnel, including an officer present at the aid station, and a home guard tried to stop him, he slashed at them too with the weapon, Kumar said.

While the other doctors escaped to safety, the victim could not, and he turned on her and repeatedly stabbed her, the officer said.

Kumar said that the man was not put in restraints as he was the one who had called the police for help and was calm while being examined by the casualty doctor.

The brunt of the attack was borne by the young doctor Vandana Das while the police personnel who accompanied the man were also injured. She was rushed to a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram but could not be saved.

After the post mortem examination was conducted, her body was handed over to her family for conducting last rites.

Initiating stringent action against the accused, the government suspended him from his employment as a teacher of a government upper primary school in Nedumpana area of Kollam district.

State Education Minister V Sivankutty said that stricter action would follow soon.

Sandeep is reportedly an alcoholic.

When Sandeep was brought out after his medical examination at the Parippally medical college, a huge crowd, including students, had gathered outside yelling slogans and protesting against him.

The police barely managed to contain the agitators, and with difficulty carried the accused into a waiting ambulance, according to visuals on TV channels.

Both Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan visited the private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram where Das was taken after the attack and met her parents.

Vijayan condoled the death of the doctor and said the incident was "shocking and extremely painful". He said a thorough investigation would be conducted into the matter.

"Assaulting health workers in the line of duty is unacceptable. A thorough investigation will be conducted into the incident. The government will take strong action against attacks on doctors and health workers," Vijayan said in a statement.

The High Court said while the police was trained and expected to protect women and children, they failed to protect the young doctor.

Das was a native of Kaduthuruthy area of Kottayam district of the state.

"It is a complete failure of the system. Having an aid post in a hospital is not enough. When you (police) knew the man was acting abnormally, you should have restrained him. You should be able to anticipate the unanticipated. Else there is no need for the police. Over time, we have become casual, Did you not fail this girl?" the special bench of Justices Devan Ramachandran and Kauser Edappagath asked.

The court added it had on several occasions in the past warned such an incident would occur if nothing was done.

"This is what we were scared of. We had said in the past that something like this could happen," the bench said.

The court said the incident has created a "fear psychosis" among the doctors, medical students and their parents.

"Doctors have gone on strike. What excuse would you give for denial of treatment to thousands of patients as a result? Can you blame the doctors for any problem caused to any patient today due to the strike?" the court asked the state government.

During the over-an-hour-long hearing in the matter, the court slammed the state government by saying that if it could not protect its own doctors, then it should shut down its hospitals.

It also directed that the CCTV footage of the rooms and places in the hospital where the incident took place be preserved.

Across the state, members of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) and the Kerala Government Medical Officers' Association (KGMOA) protested against the incident.

The Kerala State Human Rights Commission took cognisance of the matter on its own, based on media reports and sought a report within seven days from the Kollam district police chief.

The incident kicked off a political row over Health Minister Veena George's statement before the media that Dr Das was a house surgeon and therefore inexperienced and got scared when the attack occurred.

Criticising her statement, state Congress chief K Sudhakaran asked what the minister meant by the doctor being inexperienced.

He also conveyed his condolences to the victim's family.

"Does she mean the doctor was inexperienced to counter or defend against an attack by a man addicted to drugs and alcohol. The statement is a joke," he told reporters.

George, later, denied having made such a statement and said that she was only relaying what was told to her by the doctors of the taluk hospital.

She contended that the statement was blown out of proportion by the media and some political leaders.

Leader of Opposition in the Assembly and senior Congress leader V D Satheesan said the doctor's murder had shaken the entire Kerala society.

He contended it was a dangerous situation that hospitals had become unsafe places and alleged that Dr Das was killed due to "negligence of the police".

The Congress leader attacked Minister George too, saying that she had ordered the "most number of investigations in the state's history".

The BJP also slammed the ruling Left over the incident.

Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs V Muraleedharan, while expressing shock and concern over the tragic incident, contended it was a shame that doctors and healthcare workers were not safe in Kerala.

He alleged that the "apathy and callousness" of the Pinarayi Vijayan government and its "misgovernance" were tarnishing the image of the state and bringing disrepute to it.

"Shocked to learn about the brutal murder of Dr Vandana Das and attack on hospital staff in Kottarakkara. Atrocious that dreaded criminals are cut loose, endangering the lives of life savers. Deeply concerned about the safety of doctors and healthcare workers in Kerala." "Shame that doctors and healthcare workers are not safe in Kerala, which is a renowned global destination for medical tourism and has a rich legacy of various streams of medicine and healthcare. The apathy and callousness of @pinarayivijayan and the misgovernance of @CPIMKerala is tarnishing that image and bringing disrepute to the State. It's a disgrace that @pinarayivijayan government can't keep our doctors safe," he tweeted.

Meanwhile, KGMOA protested against Dr Das's killing and sought exemplary punishment for those responsible for the incident and demanded that stringent measures be put in place to prevent recurrence of such incidents.

It also urged the government to strengthen security in hospitals, ensure due precautions are taken when bringing accused in custody for medical examination and urgently implement a triage system.

Medical professionals came out on the streets across the state in protest against the incident.

An officer of Kottarakkara police said that a case under Section 307 of Indian Penal Code for attempted murder was lodged against Sandeep initially. In view of the doctor's death, murder charges are likely to be imposed on the accused.

Reacting to the incident, an IMA official said it was an unfortunate and sad incident.

The official added that Dr Das was a house surgeon at Azeezia Medical College Hospital and had been at the taluk hospital as part of her training.