Two medical officers from the JN Medical College (JNMC) at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) related to the case of the gang rape and murder of a 19-year-old Dalit woman in Hathras were removed from their posts on Tuesday.
One had contradicted the state police claim that the victim was not raped, while the other had signed some reports from the woman.
His removal comes a day after a team from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) visited the hospital and questioned doctors and hospital staff regarding the case.
University authorities said the two men were recruited temporarily because many doctors had become ill and said their expulsion was a routine step. However, one of the doctors suggested that the version he had presented could have led to his expulsion.
The woman, who was transferred to Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi when her condition failed to improve, died on September 29 from injuries sustained in the September 14 assault. His forced cremation before dawn the next day sparked widespread public protests.
The two doctors who were removed by the JNMC were Dr. Mohammad Azimuddin Malik and Dr. Obaid Imtiazyul Haque.
Read also | CBI interrogates young people on who was the first to arrive at the crime scene in the Hathras case again
Malik had contradicted the UP police version that the woman had not been raped, saying that medical tests had been conducted too late to reach that conclusion. He questioned the gap between the day of the crime. September 14 and testing day, September 22.
UP police based their non-violation claim on a report from a forensic science lab, which received the samples on September 25.
In a telephone conversation, Dr. Malik said that this may have led to his dismissal, but added that AMU authorities may be more aware of the reasons for his dismissal.
“For a specific violation finding, you need to undergo a test within four days after the incident and the test done after 11 days is useless. This was all I said and did not mention it regarding the Hathras victim case, ”said Dr. Malik.
Dr. Haque said he was surprised by the termination of his services.
“I joined when many of the JNMC doctors were sick and I worked for two and a half months in the middle of Covid-19, but I realized today (Tuesday) that my services are not needed. He had not interacted with the media about Hathras’s victim, who was sub judice, but had signed some medical documents related to the victim.
The AMU authorities described the removal of the doctors as a routine administrative exercise; both Dr. Malik and Dr. Haque were working license openings after many JNMC doctors became ill and the hospital needed doctors.
“Both doctors were not permanent and were working on a vacancy. Their tenure ended when the regular doctors recovered and joined their duties, ”said Professor Shafey Kidwai, spokesman for AMU.
“A doctor on duty, even if it is by contract, is an authorized person assigned by the institution. His version should be recognized, ”said a senior member of the Indian Medical Association, Lucknow, who requested anonymity.
.
