The Kozhikode district committee of the Kerala Government Medical Officers’ Association (KGMOA) has objected to the suspension of K.C. Ramesan, superintendent, Government Mental Health Centre, Kozhikode, from service after a remand prisoner who escaped from the facility died in a road accident on Tuesday.
In a release on Thursday, KGMOA district president C.K. Shaji and secretary Vipin Varkey said that the organisation would legally challenge the decision. “The unilateral and unjustified action against Dr. Ramesan, who has an exemplary service record, will demoralise doctors,” the district committee pointed out. Doctors at the government mental health centre would boycott out-patient services on Friday and a ‘black day’ would be observed in all government hospitals.
The KGMOA functionaries said that blaming the superintendent for the escape of remand prisoners from the mental health centre was a childish step as their security was vested with the police. There are only eight security staff members at the centre with 450 inmates and 42 remand prisoners in 11 wards. Only three security personnel would be present in a shift at a time. Though it was decided to appoint 20 new security staff members at a meeting attended by the Chief Minister on March 14, there were no follow-up steps. The KGMOA would organise protests against making officials scapegoats for security lapses, they added.
Previous incidents
This is not the first time that such incidents are being reported from the mental health centre. A woman from Maharashtra was found dead in her cell after an altercation with another inmate a couple of months ago. At least five inmates either tried to escape or escaped from the facility around the same time. One inmate reportedly committed suicide two weeks ago. There were reports of rat menace as well.
