Protest over alleged mistreatment of Vimala: A&N Administration Fails to Communicate Properly, Resorts to Lathi Charge on Protesters
TMI Correspondent
Port Blair, July 10:
On the first day of the protest, on 07/07/2024, about 200 people gathered in
front of the office of the Directorate of Health Services (DHS), led by Mr.
Hemaraju, General Secretary of the Fishermen Welfare Association, Mr. Maheshwar
Rao from BJP Yuva Morcha, PBMC Councillors Mr. Someshwar Rao, Mr. Padmanabam,
Mr. Joga Rao, Mr. Sahul Hameed, and others, including Dr. Arun Mallick, Mr.
Satyanarayana, Mrs. Mohini, and others. They put forth some demands before the
Director (Health) and Director (ANIIMS), such as details of inoculation given
to the deceased V. Vimala, a post-mortem to be done by specialist doctors of
Health Services, Defence/Dhanwantri Doctors under video surveillance with full
transparency, and compensation on security grounds for the
one-and-a-half-year-old child of the late V. Vimala. The management agreed and
looked forward to constituting a committee accordingly.
On the second day of
the protest, on 08/07/2024, in the morning, a crowd of approximately 300 to 400
people gathered outside the DHS office. Meanwhile, the post-mortem was
conducted on the body of the late V. Vimala with the involvement of four
prominent medical professionals: Dr. U Jagdish, Associate Professor & Head,
Forensic Medicine; Dr. Ashwin Mallae, Assistant Professor, Forensic Medicine;
Dr. Jaya Biswas, Chief Medical Officer (NFSG); and Dr. Navnath Dighe, External
Expert from INHS Dhanvantari. Following the post-mortem, which took about three
and a half hours, the family members and prominent people were called into the
DHS office for a detailed meeting/discussion that lasted two hours. The
officials informed the family and community representatives that the
preliminary report would be available in two days, while the final report would
take approximately ten days to complete. Speaking to the news channels, Mr.
Maheshwar Rao informed that the family members and others had decided to keep
the body in the mortuary until the preliminary report was given.
On 09/07/2024, about
100 people gathered outside the DHS office, demanding a press conference to
clarify the issue and demonstrate public concern and interest in the case. They
called for a huge gathering in the fight for justice against the health sector
in these islands. Shri Bhasker, Founder of TSG Foundation, Abdul Siddique,
General Secretary of Andaman Moplah Service Organization (AMSO), Mr. Anshuman
Roy, and Mr. Manoj Paul condemned the treatment in GB Pant Hospital, expressed
solidarity with the bereaved family, and urged for prompt delivery of justice.
On the fourth day of
the protest, on 10/07/2024, thousands of people gathered, waiting for the
preliminary post-mortem report of the late V. Vimala. Meanwhile, Shri Vishal
Jolly, Zubaida Begum, and others emphasized the incident and pointed out a
history of similar occurrences at G.B. Pant Hospital, disproportionately
affecting all residents of these islands. After hours of delay in producing the
preliminary report by the Directorate of Health Services, the huge protesters,
led by leaders and public representatives along with children, women, youth,
men, and elderly persons, decided to move to Raj Niwas to seek answers from the
Lt. Governor of A&N Administration.
A&N Police tried
to stop them but failed to manage, and the protesters reached near Raj Niwas.
However, the police blocked the way at the junction before Raj Niwas with
ropes, barricades, and vehicles. Consequently, protesters sat on the road,
blocking the way to Raj Niwas, and tension between A&N Police and
protesters increased.
Amid the protest in the
afternoon, the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of South Andaman, Arjun Sharma (IAS),
came with assurance that the grievances regarding the matter of the late V.
Vimala would be resolved and requested the people to vacate the roadway.
However, the protesters demanded the DC issue a written copy of the assurance,
and he assured them he would provide it.
Meanwhile, Director
(Health) Dr. Suja Anthony and Director (ANIIMS) Dr. Pragya Sharma together
reached Raj Niwas to talk with the protesters. They said this matter could not
be solved on the road and should be discussed at a table, trying to convince
the protesters. But, finding it too late for any explanation, they returned.
Later in the evening,
the delegation went to receive the written assurance but came back empty-handed,
stating that the DC backed off from his words on the pretext that "written
assurance is neither under rule nor in his rights."
Finally, finding no
hope from anywhere, the protesters moved to block the city road junctions at
Bengali Club, Goalghar in the evening around 5:00 pm. During the movement, some
community leaders and councillors were also detained in police vehicles.
Meanwhile, Mr. Rakesh Pal Govind also joined the protest in support of
Fishermen Community. However, the protesters sat on the road demanding justice.
At around 7:00 pm, power suspension took place, and the A&N Police resorted
to a lathi-charge on people, including men and women, at Goalghar. Sources say
the Bengali Club junction was cleared without any violence.
According to Mr. Maheshwar Rao, about 500 people from the fishermen community were injured in the lathi-charge.
Background
As per the family
members and relatives, "Mrs. V. Vimala, aged about 22 years, residing at
Junglighat Fishermen Colony, Port Blair, arrived at GB Pant Hospital on
06/07/2024 at 8:40 am seeking treatment for a fever. After consulting doctors
around 10:00 am at OPD, they suggested her go to the casualty room, where she
was instructed to wait outside due to a lack of vacant beds. After waiting for three
hours, she was attended to and administered an injection at around 1:20 pm.
Tragically, her condition deteriorated rapidly in about 20-30 minutes."
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