Shillong, July 13: The Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) on Monday has written to the Director of the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS), reminding the institute to honour the decisions taken during a meeting held on May 5, 2025, and warning of renewed agitation if the commitments made to the Union are not fulfilled.
Speaking to reporters, KSU General Secretary Rueben Najiar recalled that the Union had launched an indefinite sit-in protest at NEIGRIHMS on May 1, 2025, demanding an 80:20 female-to-male nurse ratio, revision of reservation quotas for indigenous tribals, recruitment examinations to be conducted by NEIGRIHMS itself, and several other reforms.
He stated that the protest was initiated after repeated rounds of dialogue and discussions with the institute allegedly failed to yield any positive outcome. He claimed that the NEIGRIHMS administration had ignored concerns relating to the welfare of indigenous tribals and the overall healthcare system at the institute.
According to him, the protest was temporarily suspended on May 5, 2025, following the intervention of the Meghalaya Government. He reminded, the said a meeting was held in the presence of the then Cabinet Minister Paul Lyngdoh, senior government officials, including Commissioner and Secretary Cyril V.D. Diengdoh, the Deputy Commissioner and Superintendent of Police of East Khasi Hills, as well as NEIGRIHMS authorities.
He claimed that during the meeting, assurances were given that its demands would be taken up with the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and that the recruitment process would be kept in abeyance until the issues were resolved.
However, he alleged that despite repeatedly reminding the State Government about the pending commitments, there has been no tangible progress. He also accused the NEIGRIHMS administration of failing to adequately pursue the matter with the concerned authorities.
He further claimed to have learnt that the institute’s Governing Council is expected to meet soon and that the recruitment process may resume without implementing the agreed demands, particularly the 80:20 female-to-male nurse ratio and warned that any such move would be met with “strong resistance and confrontation.”
Referring to the alleged sexual assault of a minor girl happened on July 4, Najiar reiterated the Union allegations that a male nurse from Rajasthan had molested a 15-year-old Khasi girl and claimed that several male nurses and other staff members later organised a protest in support of the accused outside the Director’s office.
He alleged that the administration allowed the protest and claimed that there had been previous instances of molestation and sexual harassment involving male nurses and staff members that were not adequately addressed. These allegations have not been independently verified.
The KSU expressed concern that proceeding with fresh recruitment without addressing its demands would lead to the appointment of more male nurses and reiterated its opposition to what it described as irregular recruitment practices.
In its memorandum, the Union placed five key demands before the Director to honour the decisions taken during the May 5, 2025 meeting, urges the Meghalaya Government to expedite the resolution of the pending issues, to defer the proposed Governing Council meeting until the Union’s demands are addressed, to immediately suspend and terminate the male nurse accused in the alleged sexual assault case from all duties at the Hospital and to suspend all male nurses, association leaders and staff members who allegedly participated in demonstrations supporting the accused.
The KSU said it expects the NEIGRIHMS administration to treat the matter with utmost seriousness and warned that any deviation from the demands would invite opposition from the Union.
