The Human Rights Forum (HRF) holds that the unacceptable conduct of the Yerragondapalem police and the criminal negligence of the Tulasi Multi Speciality Hospital in Guntur towards a Dalit youth, N Moses (18) in Prakasam district are responsible for his tragic death.
A two-member team of HRF visited Mallapalem village, spoke with family members of the deceased youth, and also the police in Yerragondapalem and local journalists to elicit facts of the case.
Moses was a resident of Yerragondapalem and a carpenter by profession. He was preparing for taking exams to get into the Police Department. On the evening of December 6, 2023 he doused himself with petrol and lit himself in the premises of the Yerragondapalem police station. He was called on the day to the police station regarding a scuffle he was a witness to, and according to the family, he, along with his father was subjected to casteist humiliation by the police. He was initially shifted to the Yerragondapalem Government Hospital, then to the Government Hospital in Markapuram and later to a private hospital there. While all this was happening, his family was not informed of his whereabouts and they had to learn of his condition from others. Moses was later shifted to the Tulasi Multi-Speciality Hospital in Guntur where he passed away on December 12.
His family are of the opinion that his burns were not life-threatening, a fact corroborated by the police. We were told that Moses was treated in an utterly negligent manner in the Tulasi hospital. He was not admitted to a separate, isolated ward but was put up in the general ICU with air conditioning which is not conducive to patients with burns. He seemed to be recovering but passed away suddenly in the early hours of December 12. The hospital never provided the family with his health bulletin when he was admitted there. To cite an example of negligence by the hospital, though his blood was being tested every day, it was only a few hours before his death that his family was informed of his critical White Blood Cells count. The family is convinced that there was criminal negligence by the hospital that resulted in Moses succumbing to the self-inflicted burns. However, given the family’s social and economic insecurity, they are reluctant to take the matter of injustice forward and hold the hospital authorities to account.
Moses was the sole bread winner of his family. We demand that the government initiate action to ensure that justice is done to his family and those who were negligent towards his recovery ultimately resulting in his death are held accountable.
Y Rajesh
HRF Andhra Pradesh State general secretary
G Rohith
HRF Andhra Pradesh State secretary
15.12.2023
Yerragondapalem,