Pollachi sex assault case: Medicos protest in Chennai

Medicos held aloft banners that read ‘don’t rape’, ‘stop sexual harassment,’ and ‘You can’t see height if you sit, so get up and come, girl’.

Published: 15th March 2019 05:42 AM 

Students of Stanley Medical College staging a protest inside the hospital premises in Chennai on Thursday. (Photo | Ashwin Prasath, EPS)

By Express News Service

With the Pollachi sex assault scandal getting bigger and murkier with every passing day, over 800 medical students including postgraduates and undergraduates at Government Stanley Medical College Hospital staged a demonstration at the college campus on Thursday, condemning the sexual abuse and blackmail.

They held aloft banners that read ‘don’t rape’, ‘stop sexual harassment,’ and ‘You can’t see height if you sit, so get up and come, girl’.

Speaking to Express, V Lakshmana Moorthy, a PG student, said, “If one girl would have come forward boldly and filed the complaint, more girls could have been saved from the accused. So, we wanted to raise awareness that girls should come forward boldly to take legal action against their tormentors. If they fail to do that, the culprits continue to victimise more girls.”

“It is always the mistake of the accused and not the victim. People should realise this and stop pointing fingers at girls always,” said Lakshmana Moorthy who organised the protest.

Karnataka government medical college fee up five-fold

With the hike, the fee for clinical courses will go up from Rs 20,000 to Rs 1 lakh from the 2019-20 academic year.

Published: 15th March 2019 06:28 AM |

For representational purposes (File | Reuters)

By Express News Service

BENGALURU: The state government, which had recently hiked the fee for postgraduate medical courses at private colleges, has now also increased the fee at government medical colleges by five times. The fee hike was under discussion over the past two weeks. On Thursday, the state medical education department decided to increase the fee by five times. With the hike, the fee for clinical courses will go up from Rs 20,000 to Rs 1 lakh from the 2019-20 academic year.

The fee for para-clinical PG medical fee has been fixed at Rs 50,000, up from the previous `10,000. The PG medical fee for pre-clinical courses will now be Rs 25,000. It was only Rs 5,000 in the 2018-2019 academic year. Students will have to pay the hostel and university fees separately. Medical Education Department director Dr Girish said that the state government had taken a decision on the hike even before the code of conduct came into force. “The official notification has been issued for the same. The fee was hiked last time six years ago,” he said.

According to the officials concerned, increasing maintenance cost of the government medical colleges triggered the proposal to increase the fee. “The state government has to spend at least `500 crore to set up a medical college. To maintain infrastructure and salaries, it has to spend few more crores every year,” said an official.

For MBBS, the state had increased the fee at government medical colleges by 200%. During 2018-19 admissions, students were asked to pay Rs 50,000 fee plus Rs 9,000 university fee.

The fee for postgraduate degree courses at government dental colleges was also discussed. It is likely to be finalised on Friday.

NABH accreditation for eye hospital in Tiruchi

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

TIRUCHI, MARCH 15, 2019 00:00 IST

Joseph Eye Hospital in Tiruchi has been accredited by National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers, a constituent board of Quality Council of India.

The eye hospital complied with 305 measurable elements during the rigorous process of accreditation stretching over six months.

The hospital has modernised the operation theatre, established firefighting systems, and trained staff in emerging techniques in management of medical emergencies such as heart attack, response to fire, and child safety.

‘International Patient Safety Goals’ figure among the best practices adopted by the hospital, Akilan Arunkumar, Quality Coordinator, JEH, told media persons on Thursday.

Benefits of NABH accreditation to patients will reflect in high quality care and safety, services by qualified and trained staff, protection of rights, regular evaluation of their satisfaction, transparent communication, and reduced post-surgical infections /complications.

The hospital has maintained zero infection rate for the past four years. Access to the hospital, assessment and continuity of patient care, management of medication, and continuous quality improvement, he added.

Medicos condemn Pollachi incident

STAFF REPORTER

MADURAI, MARCH 15, 2019 00:00 IST

More than 200 students of Madurai Medical College formed a human chain on the college premises on Thursday, condemning the Pollachi sexual abuse incident and demanding stringent action against the perpetrators.

The students said that the incident had shaken the conscience of the people of Tamil Nadu. T. Sethupathi, a postgraduate student, said the investigation and trial must be conducted in a speedy and fully transparent manner. “No one involved in committing this heinous crime must be allowed to escape from the law,” he said.

Another student said the punishment to the perpetrators must be exemplary. “We are not demanding capital punishment. However, the punishment must be stringent enough that it acts as a deterrent,” she said. Stating that the incident also indicated the deep-rooted flaws in the society, Mr. Sethupathi said children should be taught through the school curriculum itself to treat the opposite gender equally.

Naming victim in GO is contempt: Activists

Mohamed Imranullah S.

CHENNAI, MARCH 15, 2019 00:00 IST

Say only in December last Supreme Court had come down hard against such disclosures

Disclosure of identity of a college girl who had lodged a complaint regarding the Pollachi sexual abuse issue in a Government Order issued on Wednesday, for transferring the case to the CBI, has created an outrage among activists who claim that such a disclosure violated Supreme Court verdicts on related issues.

They recall that the Supreme Court, in a judgement delivered on December 11, 2018, had issued a set of nine directions listing how and in what manner the identity of adult victims of rape as well as child victims of sexual abuse should be protected so that they were not subjected to ridicule, social boycott and harassment.

“Though the First Information Report in the Pollachi sexual abuse issue had been booked under Section 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of Indian Penal Code and not under Section 376 (rape), the latter could be included at any stage of investigation or even at the time of filing charge sheet.

“Therefore, the Supreme Court directions would squarely apply to the burning issue related sexual abuse of several young girls in Pollachi and the government ought not to have disclosed the complainant’s identity in the Government Order. This clearly amounts to contempt of court,” said Senthil Arumugam of Satta Panchayat Iyakkam, a non-governmental organisation.

In the December 2018 verdict, Justices Madan B. Lokur and Deepak Gupta of the Supreme Court had ordered that no person could publish the name of the victims or even in a remote manner disclose any facts which could lead to the victim being identified. They directed that FIRs relating to them should not be put in the public domain.

The judges went a step ahead and exempted the victims too from disclosing their identity when they file appeals against verdicts passed by trial courts in rape and child sexual abuse cases. The most important of the directives was to the police who were directed to protect the identity of such victims by keeping all documents in sealed covers.

“All the authorities to whom the name of the victim is disclosed by the investigating agency or the court are also duty bound to keep the name and identity of the victim secret and not disclose it in any manner except in the report which should only be sent in a sealed cover to the investigating agency or the court,” the Supreme Court had ordered.

Pointing out that this was the latest judgment on the issue, advocate R. Sudha said, “The mighty State cannot feign ignorance about the verdict since it is a well settled proposition of law that ignorance of law is no excuse to escape punishment. It cannot also claim that Pollachi case had not been booked for rape because that provision could be invoked any moment.”

Case booked against Stalin’s son-in-law

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

CHENNAI, MARCH 15, 2019 00:00 IST

For ‘misinformation campaign’

The Chennai police taken up a criminal case against Sabareesan, son-in-law of DMK president M.K. Stalin, for alleged misinformation campaign linking Deputy Speaker V. Jayaraman to the Pollachi sexual abuse case.

On Tuesday, Mr. Jayaraman submitted a complaint seeking investigation against those spreading rumours against him and his family in the case.

After submitting a representation to the DGP, Mr. Jayaraman reiterated his claim that the DMK was behind attempts to defame him and the AIADMK ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

He alleged that the misinformation campaign linking his family to the case was being carried out in social media.

The complaint was forwarded to the Chennai police and an FIR was registered on Thursday by the Cyber Crime Unit.

DMK president M.K. Stalin sent a legal notice to Mr. Jayaraman.

Mr. Sabareesan has been charged under sections 153 (Wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot), 469 (Forgery for purpose of harming reputation), 471 (Using as genuine a forged document or electronic record), 505(1), a,b, c(which deal with spreading false information or rumour) of the Indian Penal Code.

The Cyber Crime Police also summoned Nakkeeran Gopal, editor of Tamil bi-weekly following a complaint from Mr. Jayaraman.

Mr. Jayaraman alleged that Mr. Gopal released scandalous video linking him and his family to the sexual abuse case.

Before taking up the complaint for registration, the Cyber Crime police asked Mr. Gopal to come in for the inquiry which will be held in Old Commissioner’s office on Friday.

High Court says it has lost faith in city police

Legal Correspondent

CHENNAI, MARCH 15, 2019 00:00 IST

Orders CB-CID inquiry into case

Observing that it has lost faith in the Chennai city police, the Madras High Court has ordered a Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID) inquiry into a complaint lodged in connection with alleged offences committed under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act of 1989.

Justice P. Velmurugan passed the order on a petition filed by the complainant, A.B. Karl Marx Siddharthar of Perambur. Though the complaint was lodged way back in 2016, the judge said the investigation had not been completed so far and no final report had been filed by the city police before the jurisdictional court.

“The recital of the complaint reveals that allegations are also made out for the offences under the SC/ST Act. However, the FIR has been registered only for the offences punishable under Sections 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint) and 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) of the Indian Penal Code,” the judge said.

After lodging the complaint against three named Caste Hindus with whom he had a dispute over encroachment of a pathway, the petitioner was allegedly assaulted by a group of policemen when he was filming one of the Caste Hindus abusing a Dalit woman in the locality on January 14, 2016.

Plea rejected

Though he lodged a private complaint against the policemen, the Principal District and Sessions Judge here rejected the plea and hence the present petition.

Justice Velmurugan ordered that the CB-CID should probe into all allegations including those under the SC/ST Act and file a chargesheet before the court concerned within six months.