The family of Dr Vandana Das, who was brutally killed by a patient at a taluk hospital in Kollam district, has moved the Kerala High Court seeking the transfer of the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). In a petition filed before the court on Friday, June 30, the family alleged that the police, "in a haste to wash their hands clean", had fabricated the First Information Statement (FIR).
The plea said, "The Kottarakkara police in haste to wash their hands clean had fabricated the First Information Statement allegedly given by the friend of the deceased which was obtained intercepting him midway to the hospital while taking the deceased for treatment."
Further, it also alleged that the police in order to "hide their security lapses" has been investigating the crime with a very "lackadaisical and apathetic approach". The plea read, "The petitioners who have lost their only daughter to a gruesome murder for absolutely no fault of hers and only for the negligence of the police officials who ought to have protected the lives of the people rather chose to run to safety exposing the deceased to the murderous assault of the accused."
The parents of the slain doctor sought an investigation by the CBl in the matter. "Instead of giving an opportunity to the police to hush up the matter and destroy valuable evidence, the case has to be immediately handed over to the CBl," the plea said, as stated in a report by PTI.
New ordinance
On May 23, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan signed an ordinance that provides for stringent punishment, including imprisonment of up to seven years and a maximum fine of Rs 5 lakh, for those found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm to those working in the health services sector in the state.
The ordinance was approved in a Cabinet meeting in the wake of the killing of Dr Vandana Das by a patient, G Sandeep who was a school teacher by profession, at a taluk hospital in Kollam district.
Recalling what happened...
Dr Vandana Das, a native of the Kaduthuruthy area of the Kottayam district was the only child of her parents. She was a house surgeon at Azeezia Medical College Hospital and was working at the Kottarakkara taluk hospital as part of her training.
Sandeep, who was brought to the hospital by the police for medical treatment during the wee hours of April 10, went on a sudden attacking spree using a pair of surgical scissors kept in the room where his leg injury was being dressed. He had initially attacked the police officers and a private person who had accompanied him to the hospital and then turned on the young doctor who could not escape to safety.
She was stabbed several times and later succumbed to her injuries in a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram where she was rushed following the attack, as stated in a report by PTI.
