New protocol for hospitals: Kerala Police informs High Court day after doctor on duty murdered
May 11, 2023
Kochi (Kerala) [India], May 11 : Kerala Police on Wednesday informed the High Court that a new protocol formed for producing a person before a doctor for medical examination at hospitals will be implemented within one week and stated that they had not enough staff to man all hospitals across the State.
"The police do not have enough strength to man all hospitals but there is a force called SISF - State Industrial Security Force. The same could be hired. SISF officers are young, trained and armed," ADGP MR Ajith Kumar told the Division Bench comprising Justice Devan Ramachandran and Justice Kauser Edappagath while it was considering, in a special sitting, the brutal incident of a woman doctor having been stabbed to death while on duty at a government hospital in the State.
Kerala Police also made a presentation on the sequence of events of the brutal murder. Senior Government Pleader S Kannan also handed over the preliminary report of the case to the Division Bench.
The bench criticised the State Government and said that "what we lack in our State are responsibility and accountability. Imagine that young girl. The system was wrong. The system was failing. All our systems have become very casual. The police force must be a professional force. That discipline should be there."
Reminding the police officers of their duty the bench said: "She is very young. She was too scared to run away(When the man turned violent) and was transfixed. Where were these officers to help her?"
"Even if a police officer lost his life, a doctor cannot be exposed since a doctor is not expected to face this situation but a police officer is. Are you not like a soldier? Everybody ran away after getting one stab," the bench added.
The bench said that the police failed Vandana, and all of us failed her and her family.
"We cannot pardon ourselves. We lost a child, it should not happen again. This is why we are asking you to answer," The bench told the state police chief who was also appearing before the bench online.
The court said that Police can't simply leave the accused or person in custody before the doctor, stand outside and watch "the show".
"You(police) please make sure that doctors are appropriately assuaged and assured. This is what we tried to do yesterday. We are not against anyone. You have protocols but not effective enough," the bench said. .
