Telangana cops arrest journalist who covered alleged negligence at Medicover Hospitals

Follow TNM’s WhatsApp channel for news updates and story links.

The Telangana police arrested journalist Shankar Goud on October 22. He runs the YouTube channel News Line Telugu. An FIR had been registered on October 16 against Shankar by Gopalpuram police following a complaint submitted by Medicover Hospital. Shankar had been reporting on deaths and cases of medical negligence in the hospital.

The Gopalpuram police registered an FIR on 16 October after a unit head of Medicover Hospitals lodged a complaint against Shankar under sections 126(2) (punishment for wrongful restraint), 115(2) (causing hurt), 351(2) (criminal intimidation), 329 (criminal trespass), 324 (mischief) and 352 (intentional insult to provoke breach of peace), read with section 3(5) (common intention), of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

According to the FIR registered based on Medicover Hospital’s unit head Krishnaveni, Shankar along with Telangana Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Hema Sudarshan and 50 other individuals who “identified themselves as members or supporters of the AAP have repeatedly gathered at the hospital premises without any lawful purpose.”

The FIR alleged that on October 14 and 16, “these individuals forcibly entered the hospital premises, raised slogans, and made false and baseless allegations against the hospital and its doctors in front of patients, attendants, and the public.”

The complainant also accused the group led by Shankar of blocking the main entrance and other access points of the hospital and manhandled hospital employees, including security personnel and women security guards.

Shankar has been continually and critically reporting against Medicover Hospital. As per Shankar’s reporting, on September 22, seven people passed away in Medicover Hospital and 14 people died the following day owing to medical negligence. The cases against Medicover blew up when Gunashree, a 2-year-old girl, passed away, sparking protests by family members outside the hospital.

Several of News Line Telugu’s video reports on Medicover Hospitals have gone viral. A 28-year-old woman named Aishwarya was also admitted to Medicover Hospital on October 7 for kidney stone treatment but passed away on October 13.

Following outrage and continuous reportage by News Line, Medicover Hospital’s Regional Medical Director Dr Srivatsa Deshikulu was forced to address the media. While Srivatsa initially claimed that the size of the stone was between 2 and 5 mm, upon Shankar’s insistence for more specifics, he admitted that the stone size was 20 mm. This interaction has gathered considerable media coverage.