Family and friends of G. Chandrasekaran, a Sri Lankan Tamil refugee who died at the Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences at Kalapet on Sunday, continued their protest on Monday, alleging medical negligence by the hospital. They were joined by local rights activists.
Chandrasekaran was a resident of the Keezhputhupattu refugee camp in Villupuram. He died two hours after he was admitted in the casualty ward of the hospital on Sunday.
The protesters first gathered outside the Indira Gandhi Government General Hospital where the body was kept, demanding that the post-mortem not be carried out till the hospital announced compensation and the doctor-in-charge was arrested. The postmortem was scheduled for Monday, but could not take place owing to the protests. The protestors then moved towards the Assembly where around 65 of them courted arrest. They were let off around 4.30 p.m. Chandrasekaran’s wife Vijaygauri submitted a petition to Chief Minister N. Rangasamy for financial aid, stating the family was dependant on his earnings, said G. Sugumaran, secretary, Federation for People’s Rights. The Chief Minister said that as Villupuram was under the jurisdiction of Tamil Nadu, the Puducherry government could not announce compensation, but added the government would look into the issue of alleged negligence, once the postmortem report was ready.
The government also sent Special Branch Superintendent of Police N. Ravikumar to the PIMS. The hospital management has communicated that it will wait for the postmortem report to be completed first. Family and friends who have returned to the camp and activists backing them will decide on the further course of action on Tuesday, said Mr. Sugumaran.
