During investigation, cops found that the accused - Sanjoy Roy's - phone revealed an addiction to violent pornography.
Published Aug 14, 2024 | 7:00 AM ⚊ Updated Aug 14, 2024 | 10:06 AM
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In late 2022, a 65-year-old woman was admitted to the General Ward of Osmania General Hospital in Hyderabad with symptoms of chronic kidney disease. As her health deteriorated, she was shifted to the isolation ward and placed on a ventilator. The doctors informed the patient’s family about the high risks of ventilator use.
“I also informed the patient that her condition was worsening and that anything could happen,” recalled the house surgeon who handled that case. “After about 30 minutes of treatment, she passed away due to cardiopulmonary arrest. When I brought the ECG flatline report to her family, her daughter suddenly slapped me,” he told South First, “I was shocked.”
The Telangana Junior Doctors’ Association (JUDA) leader at the time called for a strike, after that incident. “Usually, before calling a strike, we have to serve a notice to the superintendent, but the incident was so sudden that we initiated the strike immediately,” the then-JUDA leader at the hospital told South First. According to the JUDA leader, the hospital superintendent later requested the students to end the protest.
Last year, at the government general hospital in Nizamabad, Telangana, relatives of a patient allegedly assaulted a junior resident doctor. The doctor filed a police complaint, but the police downplayed the incident. “After receiving the hospital superintendent’s complaint, we registered a case against the two women. However, it was a minor incident. The women who assaulted the doctor are not educated enough to understand everything. We are investigating the case,” the Nizamabad Town-1 police SHO told South First.
Dr. Vanya Jasmine, a resident surgeon at a government hospital in Telangana, said, “A few months ago, a mentally challenged patient came to see me in the OPD. He had both mental health issues and family problems. After I treated him and advised him to leave, he asked to be admitted. I told him that would not be necessary. He left, only to return with a cement brick in his hand. He had passed through three different security points to enter the OPD with the brick, and no one stopped him. My two junior colleagues and I had to rush into a room to stay safe.”
When the authorities learned of the incident, their first reaction was to ask why she didn’t call the police.
“I was in a vulnerable situation, focused on my safety — how could I call police, who would only have arrived after something had happened to me?” she asked.
“Hospital and civic authorities are quick to distance themselves from these incidents. There is the lack of timely action, made worse by insufficient support to victims,” said the JUDA leader, who explained that after such an incident is reported, doctors respond by calling for increased security. “Provision of security is through contractual arrangements, and so minimal, that it makes it unclear who is accountable in such situations,” he said.
“When the house surgeon was slapped at Osmania General Hospital, the security guard on duty wasn’t even registered with the police. He was a replacement for someone else, on probation, and had no idea how to handle such situation. He ran away, leaving us doctors to face the situation alone,” recounted the doctor.
In 2019, the Telangana government issued a Government Order (GO) — number 103 — to deploy the Telangana State Special Protection Force (TSSPF) at government teaching hospitals for enhanced security. Five years later, that order is yet to be implemented, the JUDA leader said.
Doctors who spoke with South First said incidents of violence in hospital set-ups are not investigated or prosecuted professionally. “All the decision-making happens behind closed doors, among a small group of people who often share the same biases about the incident. Investigations into assaults are not thorough, and perpetrators often go unpunished. They simply apologize in writing, and that’s the end of it — no further action from the police,” the JUDA representative said.
Other doctors said authorities seek quick fixes rather than lasting solutions. “We’re talking about the security of doctors, but what does the government do? They might change the security agency or ask for more personnel, but they will not enforce the GO that mandates special protection forces in teaching hospitals,” a doctor said.
Health researcher Dr Sonali Vaid, with a large following on social media platform X, posted that the struggles of doctors should ideally be seen within a larger context. Doctors are not separate or more deserving (of safety) than the general public and the patients, she noted, adding that there was need for a different approach to the security of treating doctors.
“In the US, duty hour restrictions didn’t come into place because someone suddenly had empathy for exhausted residents. They were implemented because it was recognised that longer duty hours risk patient safety. Our struggles, sufferings, and potential victories are interlinked,” she posted.
She explained that for decades, the cycle has repeated – a patient or family member assaults the health worker, sometimes fatally; there is a strike, and then it is all back to normal, as nothing changes. Sexual crimes against health workers are not new; “the outrage rises and subsides, but no systematic change occurs.”
“If we continue to fight this from the lens of protecting the profession, it is a limited fight. Our fight — for this and more — must be larger. It must include justice not only for ourselves, but also for patients, the public, and other health workers,” she posted on X.
I risk saying this when emotions are very justifiably high-but till doctors see their struggles separate/more deserving from struggles of the public & patients -the fight will be one-handed
We have again &again for decades fought for safety but got nothing
We need a different way— Dr. Sonali Vaid (@SonaliVaid) August 11, 2024
Another doctor on X highlighted the patronising attitude of the administration and seniors, in medical training.
“The phrase ‘we went through the same struggles’ should never be used to justify the lack of basic workplace amenities for trainee doctors or paramedics. It is deeply disturbing to read about the West Bengal trainee doctor case. We lost a human life because the administration deemed basic amenities like a duty room and security unnecessary. The administration has blood on its hands,” dermatologist Dr Divya Sharma posted.
One of the biggest ailments plaguing medical training is the patronizing attitude of the administration and seniors.
We went through the same struggles should never be a justification to not provide basic workplace amenities to trainee doctors or paramedics.
It is so disturbing…— Dr. Divya Sharma (@divya_sharmaMD) August 11, 2024
Endocrinologist Dr Karthik Balachandran posted on X: “It’s not just the reaction of major medical colleges to the RG Kar tragedy that hurts, but the gruff manner in which students are told to stay silent. Even if the administration doesn’t support a protest, they could at least word their refusal more respectfully.”
He posted a sample message that the administration could convey: “What we expect: ‘While we share the anguish of the student community and stand together in this hour of grief, we aren’t convinced that shutting down services will help in our shared quest for justice. Hence, we implore you to refrain from striking or protesting in the larger interest of our patients, who had no role in this heinous crime.’”
Instead, the manner in which the authorities communicate makes doctors feel like they have not been heard: “What we get: ‘Rule 6 of the conduct guidelines on page 7 of the prospectus prohibits strikes. If you violate this rule, you will be terminated.’”
It’s not just the reaction of major medical colleges to the RG Kar tragedy that hurts, but the gruff manner in which the students are asked to shut up. Even if the administration doesn’t support a protest, they can word their refusal better.
What we expect :
While we share the…
— Karthik Balachandran (@karthik2k2) August 13, 2024
Meanwhile, the investigation into the rape-murder of the trainee doctor in Kolkata found that the accused, 33-year-old Sanjoy Roy, a civic volunteer with the city police, had returned to a police barrack and gone to sleep immediately after the crime. He had been married at least four times, and police said he was known as a “womaniser”.
His mobile phone revealed an addiction to violent pornography. The victim had been bleeding from the eyes – investigators said she had been struck so hard that her spectacles broke and shards injured her eyes.
(Edited by Rosamma Thomas)
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