Mounted at the main entrance to their house at Pattalamukku, near Kuruppanthara, the nameplate ‘Dr .Vandana Das MBBS’ marks the fulfilment of a long-cherished dream of K.G. Mohandas and Vasantha Kumari. That dream, however, has turned into a nightmare at the sudden intervention of a violent outsider.
On Wednesday night, the middleaged couple returned to this house with the body of their lone daughter, who was stabbed to death while on duty. The pall of gloom that descended over the village deepened as wails of the victim’s relatives and friends rent the air. Mr. Mohandas and his wife remained inconsolable.
While leaving for Thiruvananthapuram around 6.30 a.m. on the day, the couple had no clue about the tragic death of their daughter. They had been only informed that she sustained some injuries while on duty.
As part of her internship, Ms. Das was supposed to complete 84 days at a rural hospital and was posted at the Kottarakara Taluk Hospital.
“It has come at a time when the family was looking to seek suitable proposals for marrying off their daughter. Mr. Das always shared with people close to him a dream of taking her to the wedding hall in his old Ambassador car,” said one of their relatives.
K. Karthik, District Police Chief, Kottayam, paying his last respects to Vandana Das at her residence near Kaduthuruthy, Kottayam, on Wednesday. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Mohandas, a businessman, is an active member of the SNDP Yogam while Ms.Das too had earned a name for herself in the village as a bright student.
“She was passionate about pursuing a career as a medical doctor right from her high school years. Her parents too were very supportive and helped her plan everything in advance,” recalled Jishnu Shaji, her school mate.
According to local residents, they were excited and eagerly waiting to see her coming back after internship. The SNDP Yogam branch at Kuruppanthara, meanwhile, was planning to accord a reception to Ms. Das on May 28 for successfully completing MBBS.
