KOCHI: Mr K.A. Abootty of Mattannur, the father of medico Shamna Tasneem who died under mysterious circumstances at Ernakulam Government Medical College on July 18 last year, on Monday came down heavily on the state government for not taking action against those responsible for her death. He also released an audio conversation made purportedly by Dr Krishna Mohan, duty doctor, on the lines that Shamna’s body was being taken from the EMC to a private hospital on July 18 to save the heads of those responsible for her death.
Mr Abootty also said that he had received a letter from the Thalassery tahsildar informing that a solatium of Rs 3 lakh has been granted to him from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund which should be received before March 3, which he did not. “I am here not seeking compensation for the death of my daughter. A student of the medical college came there with a fever and returned dead. Another youth who came with appendicitis recently also returned dead. What is the state of affairs at this medical college? Why no action is taken against people who are responsible for the callousness that has led to these deaths?” he asked in a choking voice at a press conference held at the Ernakulam Press Club on Monday.
He demanded that the principal, medical superintendent and the RMO of the medical college who conspired to send the body of her daughter for expert treatment to a private hospital nearby should be expelled from service. Action needs to be taken against the private hospital which slapped a bill on him. He also said that the second detailed departmental probe report by a three-member doctors’ team had made similar findings of medical negligence as that of the preliminary investigation report made by a team led by joint DME Dr K. Sreekumari. The report noted that Dr Krishna Mohan had said that by the time Shamna was shifted to the ICU, her pulse was not palpable, BP was not recordable and pupils were mid-dilated.
