Woman intern attacked by miscreant at Sivaganga MCH Campus, doctors stage protest

Sivaganga: In a shocking incident, a female Compulsory Rotating Medical Intern (CRMI) from Government Sivaganga Medical College Hospital (SMCH) was allegedly ambushed by an unidentified man while returning to her hostel after completing her night duty at the hospital. 

According to her colleagues, the attacker, believed to be an outsider, attempted to gag her with a piece of cloth. However, she was rescued when a relative of a hospital staff member, who witnessed the incident, tried to confront the accused on his bike, but the accused fled the scene.

The incident occurred on Monday night when she completed her night duty and returned to her hostel on the campus's rear side. The attack is therefore reported to have taken place on the campus. 

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The incident angered other interns, students and doctors who staged a protest on the hospital premises the next day by abandoning their duties and demanding action against those who attacked the female intern, reports The Hindu. 

The protesters alleged that the hospital campus lacks proper security measures, claiming that basic facilities such as street lights and CCTV cameras were not functioning on the day the intern was attacked.

Demanding enhancement of safety on campus and establishment of basic facilities, the protesters urged the college Dean Sathyabama to take the matter seriously and install street lighting and CCTV on the campus for their safety. 

Later, the Sivaganga town police registered a case against the unknown person under charges of outraging modesty, simple hurt, wrongful restraint and sections under the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act based on the Dean's complaint. 

To control the situation, Superintendent of Police Ashish Rawat met the protesters and assured action against the accused. An investigation has been launched in this regard.

Along with the intern, medical students and doctors from the hospital staging a protest in her support, associations such as the Doctors Association for Social Equality, the Service Doctors and Post Graduates Association, and the Tamil Nadu Medical Officers Association also extended their support.

Condemning the attack on the intern, G.R. Ravindranath, general secretary, Doctors Association for Social Equality (DASE), in a thread post on 'X' said, "The Sivaganga Government Medical College administration should ensure the safety of female trainee doctors and medical students. Adequate retiring rooms with basic facilities should be provided to all CRMIs, PGs and female doctors at all Tamil Nadu government medical college hospitals. Security personnel should also be appointed to provide adequate security to them during night duties. The government should take immediate steps to install CCTV cameras at important and vulnerable places inside the hospital campuses. We hope the government will respond positively and immediately."

The Hindu reported that the Tamil Nadu Medical Officers Association, in a statement issued, said that "Assault has raised serious concerns on the safety of female doctors in government medical institutions. It is deeply distressing to witness such incidents recurring despite prior warnings about the lack of adequate security measures. No concrete steps have been taken to ensure the safety of students and doctors after the rape and murder of a post graduate doctor in R.G. Kar Medical College Hospital, Kolkata."

The association urged the government to take strict and immediate action against those responsible and ensure that stringent measures are implemented to prevent such incidents in the future. Adequate security, proper infrastructure for female doctors, and strict accountability for negligence must be ensured.

A. Ramalingam, general secretary, Service Doctors and Post Graduates Association, said, “Assaults on medicos have become the order of the day because of security lapses. No concrete measures have been taken after so many incidents. The government has not shown any inclination to address the security issues even after a senior doctor was stabbed at Kalaignar Centenary Super Speciality Hospital.”

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