Arpookkara (Kottayam):The Government Medical College at Arpookkara has become a haven for petty thieves, ganja peddlers and other antisocial elements. The Gandhinagar police have received at least 10 complaints of thefts from the hospital wards in the last two months. This gives only a partial picture as the victims go to the police only when the loss is significant.A woman undergoing treatment in the gynaecology ward lost Rs 11,000 she had kept under her hospital mattress.
Another woman patient has reported that she was robbed of her gold ornaments in the hospital ward.Many patients in the wards and their bystanders who sleep in the corridors have lost their mobile phones.
Phone thefts happen on a daily basis but the victims complain only when they lose high-end phones. To add to the problem, ganja peddlers and anti-social elements have found a den in the vast tapioca farm adjoining the hospital. Many illegal activities are based out of this tuber farm, said hospital staff who reside in the quarters on the campus. The staffers, however, refuse to be quoted as they fear for their lives.
Their fears are not unfounded. A woman was found strangled in this area a few months ago.The farm and its surroundings provide a cover for large-scale ganja dealers who transact with small time peddlers on the hospital campus. The police have a tough job screening this peddlers who visit the hospital everyday.
The police checks and combing operations are seldom effective in the rush of the patients and their bystanders. The police have slowed down on the night combing on the premises with the help of cops from the Armed Reserve camp, the staffers allege. Many vehicles parked inside the campus were reported to have been stolen.
The parking area is also used by the thieves to park vehicles stolen from elsewhere. The number of thefts have come down after the authorities appointed security guards at the parking lot and imposed a fee for parking.