All eyes on Safdarjung casteism row

Following MiD DAY's report, Health Ministry and hospital administration focus attention on probe at a medical college where SC/ST students are allegedly being unfairly targeted

All eyes on Safdarjung casteism row

Following MiD DAY's report, Health Ministry and hospital administration focus attention on probe at a medical college where SC/ST students are allegedly being unfairly targeted

Finally the government has had to step in to ensure that Vardhaman Mahavir Medical College (VMMC) gets a clean bill of health. This after MiD DAY reported allegations of caste bias by the Department of Physiology at the institution.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has written in a reply to National Commission for Scheduled Caste (NCSC) saying that the date of the delivery of the probe report against the college should be extended to March 10 from the erstwhile February 15 so that the matter can be examined properly. MiD DAY has a copy of the letter.

Reacting to allegations by the students studying at the medical college affiliated to the prestigious Safdarjung Hospital, the medical superintendent of the hospital has now issued a letter to the principal and the head of the department to look into the matter and prepare a report on the allegations.

"Based on the facts and findings, I have asked them to prepare a report by looking at both the sides of the matter," said Dr NK Mohanty, Medical Superintendent, Safdarjung Hospital. Meanwhile, students at the Department of Physiology have also sent a representation to the Vice-Chancellor of Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIP) and the Principal of VMMC stating that there is a variation in their internal assessment marks.

"In the college, I got seven out of twenty and when I checked the same in the university, it was ten. We filed an RTI for this but they did not answer it properly. Finally, we have sent a representation to the Vice-Chancellor and the Principal," said one of the students on the condition of anonymity.