KOLLAM: In a gruesome incident, a young doctor was stabbed to death by a man she was treating at Kottarakkara taluk hospital in the early hours of Wednesday.
Dr Vandana Das, 25, was attacked by S Sandeep, who was brought to the hospital with multiple injuries by the police after he sought their help claiming that he was assaulted by neighbours, officers said. Sandeep, 42, a school teacher, was brought to the casualty allegedly in an “inebriated” condition. While being attended to by the medical staff, he turned violent and stabbed those around him with a pair of scissors.
Vandana succumbed to her injuries at a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram. her autopsy report says there were 11 stab wounds on her body.
Sandeep took the scissors from the dressing table and attacked his neighbour and distant relative Binu and home guard Alexkutty, who were standing outside the dressing room, said a report filed by the state police chief before the high court. ASI Manilal, who was on aid post duty, intervened and he was also attacked, it said.
Hospital ambulance driver Rajesh S told TNIE that Sandeep assaulted others before attacking Vandana. “I heard screaming and rushed to the casualty. I saw the assailant stabbing a police officer. Though i tried to grab him from behind, he stabbed me and injured my left arm. The SI reached the spot, but Sandeep attacked him on the head,” he said.
“Meanwhile, I approached other staff members and we locked ourselves in the emergency and changing rooms. later, police officials locked the casualty and then a police team from Kottarakkara came and arrested him,” Rajesh said. Sandeep had contacted the police control room twice, saying he was assaulted by neighbours. A police team tracked him down. ‘The team took him to the hospital as he had injuries on his ankle. he was being attended to by Dr Vandana Das, when he turned violent and assaulted police officials and the doctor,” said Si Ajay Kumar.
‘We do not feel secure at work. Tragic death has left us shaken’
Remya, a nursing officer who was on duty at the time of the incident, said Sandeep seemed to be intoxicated. “He was brought to the dressing room by two police officials. He had a few cuts on his ankle and Vandana was dressing his wounds. suddenly he turned violent and grabbed a pair of scissors and started shouting. though he tried to attack me, I took shelter in the changing room. When I came out almost one-and-a-half hours later, I learnt that Vandana was killed by him,” she told TNIE.
Police said six health officials, including Vandana, were present in the hospital at the time of the incident. Manilal, Alexkutty, Binu, and Rajesh were injured. Vandana was first taken to Vijaya Hospital Kottarakara and was later shifted to KIMS HEALTH, Thiruvananthapuram where she breathed her last.
Meanwhile, the general education department has suspended Sandeep, a teacher at Nedumpana UP school, from service. He was suspended after a departmental inquiry instituted on the orders of General Education Minister V Sivankutty, a statement from the minister’s office said.
Vandana was a student of Azeezia Institute of Medical Sciences and Research in Kollam and was practising as a house surgeon at the hospital. The postmortem was held at Thiruvananthapuram Medical College. Her body was kept at the medical college and later at Azeezia Institute Kollam for the public to pay homage. The funeral will be held at her ancestral home in Kottayam on Thursday.
The medical fraternity led by IMA and KGMOA called for state-wide protests demanding better security measures for medical staff.
The hospital services were affected following the protests. The protests will continue on Thursday also. the KGMOA said only emergency services will be provided in government and private hospitals. House surgeons are also participating in the strike.
“We do not feel secure at work. the tragic death of an aspiring doctor in the presence of police has left us shaken. The incident is deeply saddening, and we cannot support any medical service until they provide adequate measures to prevent such incidents,” said Dr Reena of KGMOA.