Mysterious Deaths Of Medical Students Shocks Tamil Nadu

Chennai: Tamil Nadu is rattled by the mysterious deaths of its medical students in New Delhi.

In the latest incident, postgraduate student S. Sharath Prabhu (24) died under mysterious circumstances at his rented flat on Wednesday. He was pursuing General Medicine at the University College of Medical Sciences under Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital. He was found in an unconscious state in the washroom by his roommates on Wednesday morning. They rushed him to the college hospital, where he was declared brought dead. Police recovered an injection from the scene.

The death of Sharath comes close on the heels of a similar incident last year wherein another medical student from Tamil Nadu died. The student Saravanan was pursuing post graduation in Delhi. He, too, was found dead under mysterious circumstances with an injection beside him. A post-mortem report found that Saravanan died due to administration of a lethal injection. Incidentally, both Saravanan and Sharath Babu hail from Tiruppur in Tamil Nadu and both are merit students.

Meanwhile, the family members suspect foul play in the death of Sharath Prabhu. They claim that Sharath sounded in good health when he spoke to them the previous day. His death has created an atmosphere of fear and uncertainly among medical students from Tamil Nadu who are pursuing higher studies in Delhi. Student unions and political parties have called on the state government to take urgent steps to ensure the safety of students pursuing higher studies in other states.

CBI should probe TN doctors's death: Stalin

DMK leader M.K. Stalin on Wednesday demanded a CBI probe into the death of a Tamil Nadu doctor who was found dead in his flat in Delhi earlier in the day. Stalin said a similar incident was reported in 2016 when Saravanan, also from Tamil Nadu and a student of the AIIMS, was found dead in his flat in Delhi.

In a statement, he said in order to prevent such murders of Tamil Nadu students in future, a Central Bureau of Investigation probe should be ordered immediately. Stalin, referring to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Palaniswami's statement that students going to other states for studies should register themselves with the state government, said the Chief Minister was washing his hands off the matter.

Former Union Health Minister and PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss also demanded a probe into Prabhu's death. Ramadoss said the All India Institute of Medical Sciences tried to hush up the murder of Saravanan, saying he had committed suicide but subsequently it was proved that he was murdered. He said that similarly the UCMS authorities said Prabhu had committed suicide by injecting a large dose of insulin.

(With inputs from IANS)