Kozhikode: Twelve people including Harshina were taken into custody for protesting against the medical board report in front of the District Medical Office on Wednesday.
Harshina Malayil Kulangara, her husband Ashraf and Janakeeya Samara Samithi Chairman Dinesh Perumanna were among those arrested by the police.
Harshina and Samara Samithi members started an agitation in front of the DMO office on Wednesday morning alleging DMO office was trying to undermine Harshina's case.
Even though DMO was not in the office, Harshina and team continued the agitation until the Nadakkavu police took them under custody. Police released the team within half an hour.
The Medical Board report
It is indicated that the district level medical board rejected the police report that the scissors found in Harshina's stomach belonged to the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital.
According to the police, forceps were accidentally left behind in Harshina's stomach during her third delivery at Kozhikode Medical College on November 30, 2017. This conclusion was based on the MRI scanning report conducted at a private hospital in Kollam on January 27, 2017 following a headache. The metal object was found in her stomach during a scanning test held 5 years later. It was removed from her body in 2022.
The medical board on Tuesday rejected the police inquiry report that said the forceps found in her abdomen belonged to the Medical College. The team consisted of seven medical experts, the assistant police commissioner and the government pleader. The panel said the available evidence could not conclude if the forceps were left inside Harshina's abdomen during a C-section at the Kozhikode medical college hospital. According to the radiologist in the medical board, the instrument could have been left behind in the abdomen during her earlier C-section. There was no conclusive evidence to show that it belonged to Kozhikode MCH. Other experts also supported the view.
The district medical officer (DMO) submitted the experts' report to the police on Tuesday. The assistant police commissioner and the government pleader submitted their dissent note.
For the past two months, Harshina has been on an indefinite sit-in strike in front of MCH. On August 1, she staged a sit-in protest in front of the DMO office for postponing the medical board meeting.
Hunger strike at Secretariat
Harshina and Samara Samithi members will stage a one day hunger strike in front of the Kerala Secretariat in August 16, Dinesh Perumanna said on Wednesday.
"The DMO office is trying to undermine the case. If the forceps did not belong to the government medical college, but the Thamarassery Taluk Hospital, then why didn't the authorities take action against them," he asked.
