Candlelight vigil held in Hyderabad for 21-year-old nurse who was raped and murdered; nurses demand action against private hospital

On Monday night, a candlelight vigil was held in Hyderabad for 21-year-old nurse Sirisha, who was brutally raped and murdered in Thukkuguda. The Telangana Nurses Association (TNA) gathered at the Ambedkar Statue on Tank Bund to demand accountability from the private hospital where Sirisha worked and called for government intervention to ensure the safety of nurses and healthcare workers in private and corporate hospitals.

Members of the TNA, including Nirmala, Anusha, and Seema, alleged that the hospital failed to provide safe accommodation for its staff and threatened them when they questioned management about the issue. They also urged the government to suspend the hospital's license and demanded ex-gratia assistance for Sirisha's family. Laxman Rudavath, Joint Secretary of the TNA, emphasized the need for a systematic mechanism to record the details of people coming to Telangana for employment and maintain information on their work and residence, along with the police station responsible for their jurisdiction.