NEW DELHI: A resident doctor of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has been admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of the prestigious medical college’s hospital in a critical condition after she attempted to commit suicide.
The dental surgeon, a senior resident of the AIIMS’ Centre for Dental Education and Research, allegedly tried to end her life as her complaint against some of the senior colleagues subjecting her to caste-based and gender-based discrimination remained unheard.
“The reluctant behavior of the administration and the Institute committee led the resident to take such an extreme step of inflicting self-harm,” the Resident Doctors’ Association (RDA) of the AIIMS said in a letter to Union health minister Harsh Vardhan on Sunday.
While the finer details about the incident including the identity of the dental surgeon who attempted to commit suicide remained a closely guarded secret at AIIMS, the doctors association in their letter to the health minister described it as “a serious event of caste and gender-based discrimination” of a senior resident of the AIIMS.
“The Resident (dental surgeon) has made repeated appeals to the department, director (AIIMS) and also has been represented through RDA AIIMS to the administration. Despite multiple letters (dated March 16, March 22, March 23), there has been no adequate action taken to address this issue of grave concern and eventually leading the resident to the edge making her to take drastic step to end her life after losing hope of justice in this prestigious institute,” the doctors’ association noted.
She had also written to the women’s grievance cell and Scheduled Caste (SC)- Scheduled Tribes (ST) Welfare Cell at the AIIMS as well as the National Commission for the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe.
“But, no appropriate action has been taken,” the AIIMS doctors’ association added.
While discrimination on the lines of caste and gender is not new in the country’s elite higher education institutions, the AIIMS has grabbed headlines over various incidents of caste-based discrimination in the premier medical college in past.
Last year, Payal Salim Tadvi, a tribal and a gynaecology PG student of TN Topiwala National Medical College in Mumbai, had committed suicide over alleged discrimination and harassment by three of her seniors. The incident had sparked a nationwide outrage.
Over 70% lower-caste students of AIIMS, while deposing before Professor Thorat committee in 2007, had claimed of facing discrimination in the premier medical college. The government had set up the committee to enquire into allegations of differential treatment of SC and ST students in AIIMS.
As the AIIMS doctor’s suicide bid came to lime light of Sunday two days after the incident, with the letter of the AIIMS doctors’ association surfacing on social media, the National Commission for Women (NCW) took cognizance of it.
The Commission has written Union health ministry secretary Preeti Sudan and copied to the director AIIMS for an immediate inquiry and details of action taken report must be sent at the earliest to the commission.
“The NCW is concerned in the matter, and requests that inquiry shall be done in the alleged harassment, and action be taken to prevent recurrence of such incidents in future. Further, measures should be taken to ensure safety and security of women staff and doctors in all AIIMS department,” the rights body said in a statement.
