The Kerala high court on Wednesday slammed the state government and the police over the killing of a 23-year-old doctor at a taluk hospital in Kottarakkara area of Kollam district by a man she was treating, saying it indicated their "failure" to protect doctors. A special bench of Justices Devan Ramachandran and Kauser Edappagath said the police was trained and expected to protect women and children, but they failed to protect the young doctor.