Coimbatore: The frequent attacks by security personnel working in the night shifts on attenders at Government Hospital in Coimbatore has sent shock waves among the patients and social activists who accuse it as a human right violation.
Coimbatore: The frequent attacks by security personnel working in the night shifts on attenders at Government Hospital in Coimbatore has sent shock waves among the patients and social activists who accuse it as a human right violation.
More than 7,000 outpatients and over 2300 inpatients are treated daily at the Government Medical College Hospital, Coimbatore. Those attenders of the patients who stay overnight sleep at the corridors and empty spaces inside the hospital premises. In this scenario, allegations are rife that the security personnel deployed in the night are harrassing the attenders by assaulting them and even dragging them out of the gate.
Securities or Bouncers?
There are 180 cleaning staff and 38 securities engaged in the first shift at the Government Hospital in Coimbatore and 68 housekeeping staff and 18 securities working in the second shift. Also, there are 25 supervisors to monitor the securities and cleaning staff.
In this case, there are three securities who work in the night shift who allegedly act like bouncers. "These three securities who work in the night shifts have big lathis and torch lights with them. On the night of November 10, 2019, when the attenders are fast asleep, they charged them with lathis, waking them in shock and run in fear. The attenders would often be clueless as to why they have been beaten up. Due to lack of beds, often elderly patients mostly orphaned patients would lie on the corridors, sidewalks or under trees inside the GH, despite knowing the reason for them laying there, these remorseless securities would flash torch lights on their faces till they wake up and ask them to leave outside the gate", describe the attenders on the cruelty and inhumane bahaviour of the three securities.
Adding to the allegations, an auto driver named Vignesh revealed his distressful experience at the GH here due to these three securities.
On December 13, 2019, Vignesh came to Coimbatore Government Hospital to drop a patient in the emergency ward. As the doctors admitted the patient, the relatives requested Vignesh to drop back their mentally-challenged son at their home.
When Vignesh returned to his auto from the emergency ward, he found all the tyres were punctured. While Vignesh was clueless of the bizarre incident, the public nearby informed Vignesh that the three securities had punctured his auto.
"I couldn't confront them because I had a mentally-challenged child under my supervision. Unable to take the auto, I had to stay back in GH for over four hours in the midnight", lamented Vignesh who filed a complaint with the district administration on the issue.
In a recent incident on Saturday night, the problematic trio gang of securities assaulted an elderly man and dragged him out of the GH. The visuals of their brutality has been captured by the public and social activists who questioned them.
Expressing shock and strong condemnation against the incident, human rights activists claim that no person can exercise their power and engage in human rights violations.
Commenting on the issue, National Confederation of Human Rights Organisations (NCHRO) coordinator, B Mohan said, "This is a blatant human right violation. Its heart-wrenching to see elderly patients treated like slaves and vience unleashed on the attenders of patients at Coimbatore Government Hospital. Its furthermore shocking that the concerned officials at the GH remain mute to the allegations and support the atrocities of these so-called security guards. Such incidents should be condemned and legal action should be initiated against the offenders."