Shamna's death: Quest for justice at heart's cost

KOCHI: On Tuesday it is a year since the death of second year MBBS student of Ernakulam Government Medical College, Shamna Thasneem, under mysterious circumstances at the medical college hospital, and it’s also a year since her father K A Abootty has been fighting a lone battle to unravel the ‘mystery’ behind her death and bring to book those responsible for it. The year-long battle for justice has made the man, a heart patient, getting a heart attack a month and half back soon after his Umrah pilgrimage. He is crestfallen after the hospitalization and is being taken care of by relatives and has been advised not to stress too much.

His wife and Shamna’s mother too is battling ill health and the family is yet to overcome the grief of the death of perhaps the hope of the village, Shamna, who secured admission in MBBS on merit. Health Minister K.K. Shylaja could be called their neighbour.  But their greatest disappointment has been that her promise of bringing to book those responsible for the death of Shamna has become a futile promise. It is almost three months since the medical apex board conclusively made it clear that there was medical negligence on the part of Dr Jilse George and Dr Krishna Mohan leading to the death of Shamna but no action has followed from the Crime Branch which is investigating the case. The Crime Branch has received answers for its three dozen questions from the medical apex body also. Ironically these answers are yet to be out or are rather waiting for an RTI application to come out. No chargesheet or any other legal proceedings have followed it.

Abootty meantime has met the Chief Minister three times and the promise of justice was repeated, but again in vain. But for the firm stand of Joint DME Dr Sreekumari and Dr Suma who made departmental probes into the case and forensic surgeon Dr Liza John who registered a dissenting note in the district medical board and the current DHS Dr Saritha – all four women – the case would have died long ago. DySP K A Sasidharan of Crime Branch did his job of investigation in an exemplary manner but he was transferred when it seemed he was going towards a logical conclusion. Abootty still believes if Sasidharan was there, he would have got justice. Though delivery of justice is still a far cry in the case, Abootty is firm that he will fight it out till the end.