PG student’s death: Assistant professor issued show cause notice in Vijayawada

Vijayawada: The suspicious death of final-year anesthesia postgraduate student Dr Bathula Deepika Anu has triggered administrative action and a multi-layered investigation, even as questions continue to surround the circumstances leading to her demise. According to preliminary findings, Dr Deepika, who died on the night of Feb 4, was in the assistant professor's room shortly before the incident. The head of the department has issued a show-cause notice to the assistant professor, Dr Sushma, who was reportedly assigned night duty but left the hospital at around 8.30 pm that evening. Authorities indicated that further action would depend on her response.Sources said if Dr Sushma not left early, both PG students would have been in the same room. Instead, Dr Deepika, a senior PG, was alone in one room while a first-year PG student was in another. At around 12.45 am, Dr Deepika reportedly called her junior colleague, saying she was unwell. The junior PG student administered a cannula and injection before briefly leaving for casualty duty. Upon returning, she found Dr Deepika lying on the operating table.Dr Deepika's father, Kodandarami Reddy, submitted a memorandum to the health secretary, expressing doubts over the circumstances leading to his daughter's death. An internal committee comprising three senior professors conducted an inquiry, though its findings have not yet been made public. Police questioned PG students, staff nurses, and theatre assistants on duty that night. Investigators are examining whether anyone else entered the operation theatre and are also scrutinising her phone records. Authorities are waiting for the postmortem report, which may provide crucial clues into the cause of death.