We lost our colleague and friend Abhishek Malviya because of the callousness and utter disregard of a student’s safety by the AIIMS administration. Paramedical students at AIIMS Delhi aren’t being provided hostels. As per protocol, every AIIMS student is provided with an ambulance in case of medical emergencies. But students who’re forced to live off-campus are being denied this facility. First-year students found this out the hard way when Abhishek fell severely sick one day.

He had just joined college. The only people he knew were his batchmates. He frantically tried calling his fellow students in a state of dizziness brought on by both Covid-19 and swine flu (as stated by the medical reports by AIIMS). They were busy with lectures so no one answered at the time. A few hours later, one of his batchmates rang up Abhishek and understood the seriousness of his situation. They tried arranging an ambulance from AIIMS but was denied, citing the fact that Abhishek wasn’t living on-campus. So even as his condition worsened, he was rushed to the hospital on a motorcycle arranged by students. Once brought to AIIMS, his condition was found to be critical and was soon shifted to the ICU. Doctors who were treating him remarked that had he been brought sooner in an ambulance, his condition wouldn’t have deteriorated as much as it had. 

All this time, he was being treated by senior resident doctors. None of the doctors from the AIIMS faculty, much less the Director, bothered to pay a visit and inquire about his condition. After three days of treatment at AIIMS, he passed away. 

The AIIMS Director tells us that the administration won’t be able to provide paramedical students with hostel facilities citing no reasons whatsoever. We, the students of Bachelor of Optometry, are not even being allowed to meet the Director and Hostel Superintendent for a few minutes to express our anguish over our friend’s untimely demise and to talk about our demands. It’s as if nothing happened. There’s no remorse on the part of the AIIMS administration, and no accountability. 

Owing to a low stipend of Rs 500 a month till the third year of course, most paramedical students at AIIMS stay at a distance from their campus, since we can’t afford to find rented accommodation in our college’s vicinity. 

We were sitting on a peaceful protest in front of the Director's Office/Office of President/Deputy director's office/Senior financial Officer's office/ Registrar's Office the AIIMS Delhi campus for over 8 days now but no member of the faculty bothered to hear us out. We had no option but to go on a hunger strike since 19/08/2022.

As the Spokesperson for the Optometry Students’ Association, AIIMS, New Delhi, I’ve published this online petition to ask for your empathy and support. Help us take our voice to the AIIMS Director, so that no undergraduate student at this premier institution has to suffer the same fate as Abhishek. 

Our demands:

1.Rs 1 crore as monetary compensation for Abhishek’s family.

2. Hostel facilities for all batches of paramedical students with immediate effect at AIIMS, New Delhi.

3. Change the prospectus (offline and online) of all the paramedical students immediately. Make hostel facilities available for all UG students from the date of joining the courses and mention the same in respective course prospectus 

4. Extension of hostel accommodation in case of supplementary exams of a student till he/she finishes the course.

5. Suspension of all the responsible authorities especially Hostel Superintendent .

Sign this petition for our deceased friend, Abhishek Malviya.