’Disgraced’ AIIMS doc draws support

Shejoy Joshua was sacked by the authorities on charges of sodomy but has now been acquitted

'Disgraced' AIIMS doc draws support

Shejoy Joshua was sacked by the authorities on charges of sodomy but has now been acquitted

"We want Justice", "We want Shejoy back", "Director kuch kaam karo", were the slogans that echoed in the corridors of the Director's office at the country's premier medical institution, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). The protest was in support of AIIMS resident doctor Shejoy Joshua, who was sacked by the authorities on charges of sodomy but has now been exonerated.

United we stand:u00a0Doctors protest against AIIMS Director Dr. R C Deka
at the hospital campus in New Delhi on Monday. PIC/Subhash Barolia

Joshua was accused of sodomising an eight-year-old boy nearly five months ago. Since then, the doctor has been cleared of all allegations by the AIIMS committee, psychiatrists and the police but let alone reinstating him, the authorities refuse to even meet him.

Associations
Resident Doctors' Association (RDA) President Debjyoti Karmakar said, "The basis on which Shejoy was fired is false. The administration says a doctor should always be accompanied by a nurse during rounds. But tell us, do we enough staff to accompany every doctor?"

When asked about their demands from the administration, Karmakar said, "The system needs to be transparent. The authorities are accountable to us and they need to answer all our questions."

The Students' Union and other staff members also joined the protest. General Secretary of the Students Union, Himanshu Kanwat, said, "Today, it has happened to a resident doctor. Tomorrow, we will be resident doctors. What if the same happens to us? Even now we work here sometimes and are not always assisted by nurses."

All for one
"We will no longer work as puppets in the hands of the Health Ministry," said one of the doctors on condition of anonymity.u00a0 Dr. Parag Barwad, Cardiologist, AIIMS, said, "I personally know Shejoy. He dedicated 14 years of his life to this profession. The authorities should at least have thought of his family, his children, or his father, who is in the last stage of cancer. Without going deep into it, the administration fired him and deprived him of his rights. This is totally wrong on their part."

"This is not just Shejoy's fight, this is a fight for all of us," said another doctor. Meanwhile, addressing the protesters, Director Dr. R C Deka said, "The matter is subjudice and I cannot say anything about it. President of AIIMS Ghulam Nabi Azad is not in the country. No decision can be made till he comes back."