Four years after Dr Shashikant Deshpande asked Dr Shashikant Dange to kill the female patient, Kausar Fatima Dayami, the long arms of the law have finally caught up with him
NEW DELHI – Contrary to the ethics of his noble profession, a doctor in a government hospital in Maharashtra’s Latur District is alleged to have asked his colleague to kill a female COVID-19 patient.
Physicians take the Hippocratic Oath, emphasising ethical conduct and patient care. It outlines core principles like beneficence (doing good), non-maleficence (doing no harm), and upholding patient confidentiality. While the original oath is ancient, it continues to be a symbol of medical ethics and a guide for physicians today.
Four years after the alleged conversation took place between the Udgir Government Hospital’s Dr Shashikant Deshpande and his colleague Dr Shashikant Dange, wherein the former is heard in a viral clip asking the latter to kill a female patient, Kausar Fatima Dayami, the long arms of the law have finally caught up with him. He has now been booked by the Maharashtra Police for his alleged malfeasance, media reports said on Saturday.
Dr Deshpande was the additional district surgeon at the hospital during the pandemic.
In the viral clip, Dr Deshpande is heard speaking, “Don’t ask anyone to go inside. Just kill that Dayami Woman”, and in response, Dr Deshpande is heard saying, “The oxygen support has already been reduced.”
Kausar Fatima tested positive for COVID-19 on April 15, 2021, and was admitted to the Udgir Government Hospital in Latur. Ten days later, she was discharged upon recovery. Dayami Ajimoddin Gaussoddin, husband of Fatima, in his complaint, states that he was present at the time and had overheard the exchange between the doctors while sitting beside Dr Dange, who was eating and had put the phone on speaker. He also told the police that Dr Deshpande had also made casteist comments and had hurt religious sentiments, but he remained silent, as his wife was being treated.
Though the woman fully recovered from COVID, years later, the audio has resurfaced on social media, after which her husband filed a complaint. The investigation is to be followed, the Udgir City Police has informed. Gaussoddin says that recollecting the derogatory remarks again and hurting religious sentiments during a crisis brings him and his family emotional distress
The FIR booked against Deshpande includes sections under deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings and other offences. The Udgir City Police have informed that they have seized Deshpande’s phone and have issued a notice to him to be present for recording the statements.
