Tirupati: While the investigation into the brutal rape and murder of a junior doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata is still ongoing and has sparked outrage among junior doctors across the country, a similarly disturbing incident has taken place in Tirupati.
At the Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences (SVIMS), a junior doctor was attacked while on duty in the emergency department. CCTV footage widely circulated in the medical community shows a patient violently pulling the medical student’s hair and banging her head against a table.
Doctor’s head smashed against steel bar
The medical student, who is currently interning in the surgery department, described the incident in her complaint letter. On August 24, while she was on duty in the emergency department, she was unexpectedly attacked from behind by a patient named Bangaru Raju, who dragged her by her hair and hit her head against the steel bar of a cot. Despite her attempts to defend herself, she was overpowered and there were no security personnel present at the time. She was immediately rescued by her doctor friends.
The patient, who had come to Tirumala with his family on a pilgrimage from Bobbili in Vizianagaram district, is said to be an epileptic patient. He was initially admitted to TTD’s Ashwini Hospital in Tirumala and shifted to SVIMS on Saturday morning where he was given IV fluids and other treatment.
However, the reasons for the attack are still unclear.
Doctors protest in front of hospital
In response to the attack, residents and students of the Sri Padmavathi Medical College for Women staged a sit-in outside the emergency room.
The student who was attacked raised serious concerns about workplace safety, pointing out that the situation could have been far more dangerous if the patient had been armed, and calling on authorities to implement better security measures in high-risk areas such as the emergency room.
This incident comes at a time when junior doctors across the country are already demanding improvements in their working conditions, including regular payment of stipends, better accommodation in dormitories and increased security on hospital premises.
The body of a junior doctor, severely injured, was found in a seminar room of a government hospital in Kolkata on August 9, further strengthening these demands.
Just three days ago, junior doctors at AIIMS Delhi and RML Hospital ended their 11-day strike after appealing to the Supreme Court, which had assured them that they would not face any adverse action after resuming work.
