Tearful adieu to Kakatiya Medical College student Dr. Preethi

A tense situation prevailed as some of the activists of the tribal organisations demanded punishment to the accused, who was already arrested on charge of abetting her ‘suicide’

Dr. Preethi’s father Dharavath Narendar at her funeral held in Girni Thanda village of Kodakandla mandal, in Jangaon district on February 27. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Amid wails of grieving family members and heavy police deployment, the last rites of the PG medical first year student of Kakatiya Medical College (KMC) Dr. D. Preethi, who allegedly died by suicide due to harassment by a course senior, were performed at her native Girni Thanda, a tribal hamlet, in Jangaon district this afternoon.

Heart-rending scenes were witnessed at Girni Thanda as the grief-stricken villagers, representatives of various tribal organisations and political parties thronged the tiny tribal hamlet to pay homage to the young doctor, whose promising career was cut short following her tragic death.

Slogans of “Dr. Preethi amar rahe” rent the air during the funeral procession.

Last rites of Dr. D. Preethi were performed at her native Girni Thanda, a tribal hamlet, in Jangaon district on February 27. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

A tense situation prevailed as some of the activists of the tribal organisations sat on the abutting highway demanding exemplary punishment to the accused Dr. Saif, a second-year student of MD anaesthesia course, who was already arrested by the Matwada police on charge of abetting her ‘suicide’.

The protesters vociferously demanded that a judicial probe be ordered and the Kakatiya Medical College (KMC) Principal and the Head of the Department concerned be suspended to ensure speedy justice to the bereaved family.

The police whisked them away from the tribal hamlet amidst continued sloganeering by the protesters demanding ₹5 crore ex-gratia and a Group-I cadre government job to one of the family members of the deceased.

“She wanted to become an anaesthetist to serve the needy and bring laurels to our tribal hamlet, but fell prey to the targeted harassment by Dr. Saif and apathy of the college authorities towards her plight,” said Dr. Preethi’s inconsolable father Narendar.

Alleging foul play in Dr. Preethi’s death, a sobbing Narendar said: “My daughter was a very diligent student and was not so weak to take her life. A judicial inquiry be ordered to unravel the facts and punish all the guilty responsible for her death.”

“The accused in my sister’s death case should be punished with the death penalty to prevent recurrence of such incidents and mental agony to parents,” said Puja, the elder sister of Dr. Preethi, with tears in her eyes.

“He is unfit to be in the noble medical profession and play havoc with the lives of people if allowed to go scot-free,” she said.

What exactly happened to my sister during her night duty at the MGM hospital on Tuesday night needs to be thoroughly probed and an impartial inquiry be ordered into the circumstances that led to her death, she demanded.

Fuming in anger, a close relative of Dr. Preethi, said, “The arrest of the accused and the announcement of an ex-gratia by the government is a mere eyewash. An impartial probe be ordered to ensure fast-track investigation and deterrent punishment to the guilty.”

Meanwhile, tension prevailed in front of the KMC in Warangal when several activists of the ABVP tried to lay siege to the college demanding exemplary punishment to the accused in Dr. Preethi’s death case and suspension of the HoD and the Principal of the college. The police immediately swung into action and dragged them away.

Activists of the PDSU staged a demonstration in Khammam to press for urgent steps to curb the evil of ragging and stricter punishment to Dr. Saif accused of abetting the “suicide” of Dr. Preethi.

Elsewhere, the medicos took out rallies in Godavarikhani and several other towns of north Telangana in memory of Dr. Preethi.