A junior doctor at a private medical college and hospital in Uttarakhand died by suicide in his hostel room just days after his thesis was rejected by a professor.
Divesh Garg, a 26-year-old first-year paediatric student at the Shri Guru Ram Rai Institute of Medical and Health Sciences in Dehradun, was found lifeless on May 17, sparking allegations of harassment and toxic work conditions.
Family members of the deceased allege that continuous harassment by his professors led him to take his own life.
His father, Ramesh Garg, recounted the distressing ordeal his son faced. He accused the professors and the college management of subjecting Divesh to unbearable pressure, including long working hours even when he was unwell and demands for bribes to pass his thesis.
“My son joined college in October 2023. A few days later, Utkarsh Sharma, Ashish Sethi, Bindu Agrawal and the management committee started harassing him. They made him work 36-hour shifts even with a 104-degree fever. My son told me, ‘Utkarsh Sharma rejected my thesis twice and demanded 500,000 rupees for passing. He insulted me in front of patients, and Bindu Agrawal mentally tortured me,” Ramesh Garg told news publication India Today.
His father revealed that his son had called him at 10 am on the morning of May 17, expressing distress. “Take me away, or I’ll commit suicide,” his son said.
“We assured him that we would come to get him the next day and urged him not to take any wrong step,” Ramesh disclosed.
Following Ramesh’s complaint, accusing Sharma, Sethi, Agrawal, and the college management committee of driving his son to suicide, the police have registered an FIR.
The college management has called for an impartial investigation into the matter and has formed an interim inquiry committee to look into the case.
The incident has sparked protests among PG doctors at the hospital premises, demanding justice for their colleague and highlighting the toxic work environment they face.
While speaking to the publication, a student from the Shri Guru Ram Rai Institute of Medical and Health Sciences revealed how “the toxicity that took Divesh’s life involved working 20 hours a day.”
He adds, “There’s no time to eat. All PG students are suffering from this.”
A classmate of the victim said, “Divesh was very cheerful. He even worked with a 103-degree fever. The work culture was making him despondent. The last time I met him, he was not happy; he was crying and distressed.”
Explore in-depth coverage of Lok Sabha Election 2024 Schedule, Voter Turnout, Upcoming Phase And Much More At News18 Website
Comments
0 comment