Doctor Vandana death case: Kerala Education Department suspends murder accused Sandeep

The action of the Department of General Education is within hours of the murder that shook the state.

Kollam: The General Education Department of Kerala on Wednesday suspended Sandeep, who murdered a lady doctor in Kottarakkara. G Sandeep (42), is a teacher at Nedumbana UP School. 

The action of the Department of General Education is within hours of the murder that shook the state. The office of the Minister of General Education also informed that the reports that he was under suspension earlier are false.

Hundreds came to pay their last respects to Dr Vandana Das outside the hospital. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan also paid tributes to Vandana.

The First Information Report (FIR) states that Sandeep followed Vandana and repeatedly stabbed her. According to the report, the murder suspect snatched a pair of scissors as the doctor was treating his injured leg with medication. Vandana was initially stabbed in the head.  The FIR further claims that he screamed threats to stab everyone as he tried to flee.

Film Director Ramasimham condemned the incident and demanded Chief Minister rewrite laws against drug addiction and abuse. 

He said, "Substance abuse has started hunting not only one's own family but also the family of others. Mr Pinarayi Vijayan, the time has passed to rewrite the laws. Even if one gram of drug is seized, there should be a minimum of 2 years of rigorous imprisonment. Kerala is now a devil's own country and not God's own country. Will be grateful if you (Chief Minister) remember this. Tributes to the deceased Dr Vandana Das."

Vandana Das was a final year MBBS student at Azeezia Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Kollam and a house surgeon at the taluk hospital.

Sandeep was under treatment in a de-addiction centre. Sandeep, according to hospital officials, stabbed the doctor six times in the back. She had stab wounds to her back and abdomen, according to the doctors who treated her at a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram. Due to the extensive internal injuries they produced, this turned out to be fatal.

The Kerala High Court on Wednesday came down heavily upon the state government and the police for their "failure" to protect doctors in light of the murder of a 23-year-old doctor at a taluk hospital in the Kottarakkar of the Kollam district by a patient. A special bench of Justices Devan Ramachandran and Kauser Edappagath said the police were trained and expected to protect women and children, but they failed to protect the young doctor.