8 doctors accused of caste discrimination

AHMEDABAD:

M Mariraj

, 29, the master of surgery student who attempted suicide by an overdose of sleeping pills at

BJ Medical College

on Friday, accused eight doctors and two college administrators of casteist discrimination, in an FIR lodged late on Friday night at Shahibaug police station.

“We have recorded the statements of some of the accused and have also found witnesses against two of the doctors. The doctors will be arrested soon,” said a senior police official.

Mariraj’s FIR states that he was victimized because he belonged a scheduled caste he some of his colleagues had humiliated on various occasions.

M Mariraj is a native of Tirunelveli district in Tamil Nadu. In his FIR, he states that he had to change his unit as Dr Neena Shah, Dr Pankaj Modi, Dr Parth Dalal, Dr Gunvant Rathod and Dr Jayesh Parikh would always discriminate against him on the basis of his caste.

“Mariraj states that things did not change even after he changed his unit, and he faced the same discrimination from some doctors at

Civil Hospital

. He alleged that he was not allowed to do the things he was entitled to and that the others did not let him perform surgery,” said a senior police official.

M Mariraj has alleged that his seniors would send him to get tea for groups and pay for it from his pocket. They questioned whether he was a doctor and demanded to see his degree.

“They would drive him out of the ward in the presence of juniors to humiliate and insult him,” said a police source of Shahibaug police station.

About the incident on Friday afternoon which led to attempt suicide by an overdose of sleeping pills, M Mariraj state that the final incident that drove him to attempt suicide took place when a patient was brought to the operation theatre in the presence of Dr Utkarsh Shah and Dr Anil Patel.

“He alleged that when he asked them to let him perform the operation, those in the OT abused him and said that they would decide who is to perform the operation and not him,” said DCP Shweta Shrimali of Zone- IV.

Mariraj says that even though he informed his head of unit (HOU) Prashant Mehta and Dr Vikram Mehta about the ill-treatment by Dr Anil Patel and Utkarsh Shah, they did not take any action.

Police sources said Mariraj then went to room No. 306 of at the new PG hostel on the Civil Hospital campus and ingested the sleeping pills, which were lying there. “He informed his friend — also from Tamil Nadu and studying at

TB Hospital

— about the incident,” said DCP Shweta Shrimali.

DCP Shweta Shrimali added that Mariraj was rushed to the hospital by his friends, where his condition is now stable.


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