A day after they were heckled, pelted with stones and chased away from a locality in Indore, doctors Trupti Katdare and Zakiya Sayyed returned to the same spot. Back to finish an incomplete task, they refuse to abandon the role that could help save lives.
“I am not afraid. The profession we picked is a noble one,” says Dr. Sayyed in a message. “And right now, the country needs us. So, don’t step back, step forward and help the country.”
The incident in Indore on Wednesday, where cases have soared to 112, left both the doctors, and the country, shocked and outraged. “Not even in our dreams could we imagine it,” says Dr. Katdare. As they traced contacts of a patient in Tatpatti Bakhal, tempers flared on requests for quarantine, and a mob chased them out. Dr. Katdare fell to the ground and hurt herself, while others were injured as stones landed from behind.
After managing to escape in the tehsildar’s car, they met the Collector who motivated them. But the push from their husbands proved most useful: “They said you should not give up this easily,” says Dr. Katdare. And they returned the next day.
