The general secretary of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Nara Lokesh, has claimed that there is no security for Dalits in the state. The TDP general secretary was in town on Monday to meet family members of anesthetist Sudhakar, who died of cardiac arrest on Thursday evening. Dr. Sudhakar has been suspended from duty for criticizing the state government for failing to provide PPE kits and masks to doctors and health care workers during the first phase of COVID-19 last year.
Mr. Lokesh claimed that Dr. Sudhakar has been targeted on accusing the government of failing to deliver masks and PPE kits to doctors caring for COVID-19 patients and ignoring the threat to their own lives.
The TDP general secretary claimed that Dr. Sudhakar was mistreated by the police on the city’s national road and later described him as a “madman”. Mr. Lokesh claimed that Dr. Sudhakar said he was targeted by the local MLA for exposing the shortcomings in the hospital. A letter from Telugu Mahila President Anita detailing the mistreatment of Dr. Sudhakar presented by the police and the government has been taken up for investigation by the AP High Court suo motu.
The high court had a CBI investigation into the alleged abuse of Dr. Sudhakar arranged. Mr. Lokesh claimed the state government was putting pressure on Dr. Sudhakar exercised to admit his mistake, otherwise he would lose his job. The CBI had submitted a report to the High Court on September 2, 2020, according to which there was a conspiracy angle in the case, Lokesh said.
He said it was unfortunate that Dr. Sudhakar died before he could get justice. He said the TDP was Dr. Sudhakar’s family would stand by their side and ask the state government to pay 1 crore in compensation.