Dr Vandana Das murder: CM rejects opposition's call for CBI probe

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan here on Wednesday dismissed calls for a CBI probe into the murder of Dr Vandana Das, who was murdered while on duty at the Kottarakkara taluk hospital last May.
Addressing the Assembly, Pinarayi said the probe was carried out and a charge sheet was submitted in court by police without any delay. For the same reasons, the Kerala High Court dismissed the victim's parents' plea for a CBI investigation, he said. 

"So, on what basis can the government order a CBI probe?" Chief Minister asked UDF MLA Mons Joseph who invited his attention to the victim's parents' desire for a CBI probe into the case. Joseph also asked the CM whether the government would consider appointing a special squad to investigate the claims of the parents with regard to alleged shortcomings in the police probe. Pinarayi also declined that. "There is no need for any special squad or team to investigate anything," he said. 

In order to ensure that such incidents do not happen in future, the state government issued a comprehensive medico-legal protocol in September, 2023, Pinarayi pointed out.

The High Court last week dismissed the parents' plea for a CBI probe into the murder, saying there was no reason to doubt the integrity or credibility of the police investigation. However, a day later, the victim's family criticised the government for "vehemently opposing" their plea in the Court. Vandana's father, Mohandas, also said that the family would file an appeal against the single bench verdict dismissing their plea for a CBI probe.

Dr Vandana was a native of Kaduthuruthy area of Kottayam district and the only child of her parents. She was a house surgeon at Azeezia Medical College Hospital and was working at the Kottarakkara taluk hospital as part of her training. The accused -- G Sandeep -- was a school teacher by profession and was taken to the taluk hospital by the police for medical treatment during the small hours of May 10, 2023, when he went on a sudden attacking spree using a pair of surgical scissors kept in the room where his leg injury was being dressed.

He had initially attacked the police officers and another person who had accompanied him to the hospital and then turned on the young doctor who could not escape to safety. She was stabbed several times and later succumbed to injuries in a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram where she was rushed following the attack.
(With PTI inputs)