There was not a pair of eyes that were not moist during a meeting organised by the Karnataka State Commission for Women in memory of dentist Savita Halappanavar on the occasion of Human Rights Day here on Monday.
“Those doctors killed my daughter. They watched her die. They should be punished,” said Andanappa Yalagi, Savita’s father.
Thirty-one-year-old Savita died from septicaemia at Galway University Hospital in Ireland in October after doctors allegedly refused to perform an abortion.
Reiterating the family’s demand for an independent public inquiry into Savita’s death, her father said: “The Indian government has written to the Irish government demanding a public inquiry. They have already tampered with the documents in the hospital.” He was referring to the missing note from Savita and her husband Praveen Halappanavar requesting termination of pregnancy. “This has destroyed the family’s faith in the Health Service Executive, which is probing the reasons behind the dentist’s death,” Mr. Yalagi said.
Hailing the cooperation from the Indian government, he said, “[Overseas Indian Affairs Minister] Vayalar Ravi has spoken to me thrice. But the Irish government’s responses are not positive. They just want to protect their country from embarrassment.”
Recalling the last few days they spent with Savita, Mr. Yalagi said, “We were in Dublin when she was admitted to the hospital. We left on October 24 for Bangalore. The doctors knew that the child wouldn’t survive. My daughter requested repeatedly for abortion, pleading with them that she was Indian and a Hindu. The foetus was removed later, but she died of blood poisoning on October 28.”
He added that Savita was confident of the hospitals in Ireland and had told her parents that she would return home to Belgaum about five months after the delivery, scheduled for March 30. “We had also promised that we will be with her from March 25 and take along items that we couldn’t this time due to the limit on baggage,” Mr. Yalagi said.
Savita’s husband will stay on in Ireland and continue to fight for justice, Mr. Yalagi added.
