The protest at Gandhi Medical College (GMC), Bhopal, which started after the suicide of 27-year-old pregnant PG resident doctor Dr Bala Saraswathi continues despite the replacement of Dr Aruna Kumar, Head of the Department (HoD), Obstetrics & Gynecology.
The college released a notice, on August 2, handing over the responsibility of the department to Assistant Professor Dr Bharti Parihar in the aftermath of massive protest on campus.
The protestors had demanded the former HoD Dr Aruna Kumar resignation alleging that she had a role to play in the young doctor's suicide. She allegedly harassed Dr Saraswathi, did not sign her attendance or thesis nor permitted Dr Saraswathi to take maternity leave.
Dr Saraswathi herself alleged in her suicide note that she was taking the extreme step due to harassment at the hands of her college faculty.
Presence is the problem
“Dr Aruna has only been replaced but her presence, her ideologies and her influence will still be in the department. It does not change anything. She has not taken any moral responsibility for the incident either. We do not want her to be present in this college. Her mere presence in the department poses problems as she is not student-friendly,” said Ashish Tiwari, Vice-President, Junior Doctors’ Association (JDA), GMC Bhopal.
The protestors have demanded that Dr Aruna Kumar be transferred to another institution in order to ensure unbiased enquiry into the matter.
The association claimed that there have been other such incidents in the past under Dr Aruna’s leadership. Back in 2019, when Dr Aruna Kumar was the Dean of GMC Bhopal, there was a life-threatening incident against a Paediatric resident by an intruder who climbed into her room and tried to sexually assault her, the association alleged.
“Dr. Aruna Kumar failed to realise the gravity of that incident and did not take appropriate action. As a result of which she was removed from the post of Dean. Since this incident is the second grievous incident under the same leadership which led to loss of life of a resident, we are afraid her presence in this institute might lead to more such unfortunate incidents in the dept,” the association said in a statement issued today, Thursday, August 3.
The death of Dr Bala Saraswathi and subsequent protests at GMC Bhopal have gained support from a number of medical associations like the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA), Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA) and several state JDAs.
The protestors informed that they will plan a statewide protest with the help of various medical organisations if their demands are not met.
