Hospital class 4 employee in suicide bid

A 32-year-old woman, a class 4 employee of Prince Aly Khan Hospital tried to commit suicide on Wednesday, because she was allegedly fired from work for withdrawing a sexual harassment case against a hospital union member.

There are reportedly two unions in the hospital that represent class 4 employees and technicians. However, since the formation of the second union, there had been a continuous clash to override each other.

Rama Gignesh Parmer, who belongs from the newly formed second group, has claimed she was manipulated into filing a sexual harassment case against one of her group members Vinod Wagela. Rama said that though she had filed a complaint on Saturday at the Byculla police station, she felt guilty and withdrew it the next day by submitting a letter that is in the possession of The Asian Age. Rama this affected her employment at the hospital.

On Wednesday, Nilesh Nachne, the HR officer at the hospital, fired her without providing any notice period or a written paper as she was a temporary staff.

Rama then consumed phenyl on the hospital premises in a bid to end her life. Currently, she has been admitted to the ICU of the same hospital where she is undergoing treatment.

Talking to The Asian Age, she said, “For their benefits, they trapped me. I couldn’t go against my morals and so withdrew the complaint. Now, the hospital authorities, who are in cahoots with the old union, are taking revenge. They fired me without though it was not my fault.”

Mr Nachne refused to comment on the issue. Though a complaint was filed at the Byculla police station in the morning under ‘abetment of suicide’ so far no case has been registered.When asked, S.S. Makdum, senior police inspector, claimed, “We are investigating the incident and until it’s complete, we cannot register a case.” However, Makdum threatened this reporter and friends of Rama who were present at the time, demanding that those making inquiries about Rama should provide their phone numbers and identity proofs.