23-yr-old Kerala doctor stabbed to death while on duty, protests across state

According to police, 42-year-old S Sandeep was under the influence of alcohol, and suddenly became violent, jumped up from the hospital bed, grabbed the scissors and stabbed several people, including a policeman.

Vandana, who was serving as a house surgeon at the Kottarakkara government taluk hospital, where the incident took place, later died during treatment at a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram.

Soon after the incident, government doctors boycotted work and took to the streets across the state demanding justice for Vandana. They also demanded action from the government to ensure the safety of healthcare professionals. The Kerala Government Medical Officers Association and Indian Medical Association also announced that they will boycott duty in the state, except for emergencies, on Thursday as well.

Vandana’s death drew sharp reactions from the Kerala High Court as well, which said such an incident could erode faith placed in the system by young doctors.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan called the doctor’s death “shocking” and “painful”, and said that attacks on health workers on duty were unacceptable. “A comprehensive investigation will be held into the incident, and the government will take strong action in attacks on doctors and health professionals,” he said.

According to police, the sequence of events that led up to the doctor’s death started early Wednesday when the accused, Sandeep, called the district police control room, saying some people were attacking him. After being alerted, officials at the Pooyappally police station tried calling Sandeep. But he was unreachable. The police said Sandeep called them again around 4 am, repeating that he was being attacked.

The police were then able to find him near someone else’s house in Pooyappally. An officer said that at the time, he was speaking and behaving in an abnormal manner and was under the influence of alcohol. He also had an injury on one of his legs, an officer said.

Around 4.30 am he was taken to the Kottarakkara taluk hospital. ADGP (law and order) M R Ajith Kumar told reporters that when Sandeep was taken to the hospital, he was not an accused.

“Sandeep behaved normally when he was brought to hospital for treatment. After examination, he was taken to the dressing room, where he first turned violent on the dressing table. Jumping out of the bed, he kicked a relative named Binu. He took the scissors from the room and stabbed a home guard (who was accompanying the police team). Sandeep then turned against a policeman on duty at the hospital and another person,” the ADGP said.

“While all others in the dressing room managed to get out, Dr Vandana could not. Sandeep then turned against the doctor and stabbed her multiple times. The accused person is an alcohol addict,” he said.

Sandeep is a teacher at a government-aided upper primary school at Nedumpana in Kollam. Susan, the headmistress of the school, said, “He joined in December 2021. Actually, he belongs to another aided school, but became a protected teacher as that school did not have enough students. We have not come across any incident showing that he is a drug addict… We don’t have any complaints about his behaviour.”

However, his neighbour Sreekumar said Sandeep had a habit of creating trouble and turning violent under the influence of alcohol. On Tuesday night, he had quarrelled with his mother in an inebriated condition, Sreekumar said.

Hailing from Manjoor town in Kottayam district, Vandana was the only daughter of businessman K G Mohandas and Vasanthakumari. She did her MBBS from Azeezia Institute of Medical Sciences, Kollam. Soon after her MBBS exams were over, the family had proudly put up a nameplate that read ‘Dr Vandana Das MBBS’ on the gate of their property.

After her MBBS exams, she was required to complete 84 days of service at a rural hospital. For this, she started working at the Kottarakkara hospital from March.

Mourning her death, Manjoor panchayat member Tomy Karukulam said, “We were all proud of Vandana. She was excellent in studies. Her death is a loss for the entire village. Recently, her family had made a special offering at a local temple after her exam was over. They were excited and eagerly waiting to see their daughter return after the internship.”