Varsity decides to refund resident doctor’s fee

Tribune News Service

Faridkot, November 17

Four days after a resident doctor of Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital here died of Covid-19, the Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS) today announced a refund of the fee paid by the student prior to completing his course.

Asking the state government to declare 25-year-old Dr Ankit Kumar a Covid warrior, the BFUHS sought Rs 50 lakh insurance aid for the doctor’s family.

“The young doctor in the surgery department of the medical college had been treating patients diagnosed with Covid-19 and also helping check the spread of the virus. He forgot the risk he was putting himself in while dealing with patients afflicted with the virus,” said Dr Raj Bahadur, Vice Chancellor, BFUHS.

Dr Ankit is survived by his parents and two younger sisters. His father works as a class 3 technician in the Railways. Belonging to a reserved category, the family had taken an education loan of Rs 3 lakh to pay the fee of his post-graduation course, apart from another loan of Rs 2 lakh for his MBBS course. Dr Ankit had completed his MBBS from Government Medical College, Patiala.

Dr Ankit tested negative for the virus after having worked for one week in the Covid ward of the hospital. On November 12, he complained of abdominal pain and vomiting. The doctors advised a retest, and he came out positive for Covid-19. Dr Ankit died within 12 hours of testing positive.