The Health department has transferred two faculty members in the Department of Psychiatry at the Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode, who were accused of mentally harassing postgraduate (PG) students there.An order issued on Thursday (June 4, 2026) said that A. Anitha Kumari, Associate Professor, has been transferred to the Government Medical College Hospital, Idukki. She will be replaced by Mili Babu, who was serving was Associate Professor in Idukki. C.A. Smitha, Assistant Professor, has been transferred to the Government Medical College Hospital, Kollam.This follows the recommendations proposed by a three-member panel appointed by the Directorate of Medical Education (DME) to inquire into the allegations levelled by the 12 PG students. Varghese P. Punnoos, Principal, Government Medical College, Kottayam, who is also Professor, Department of Psychiatry; P.S. Indu, Principal, Government Medical College, Thrissur; and C. Raveendran, secretary, Institutional Ethics Committee, Government Medical College, Thrissur, were the panel members. The complaint was filed in April, and the Students Federation of India and the Kerala Medical Post Graduate Association had staged protests seeking action against the teachers.After conducting hearings with the students, doctors, nurses, nursing assistants, and others in May, the panel members found merit in the complaint that the faculty members had mentally harassed and insulted the PG students. They also noticed that this had also created an atmosphere not conducive for the academic learning and training of the students. Thus, the panel recommended that these faculty members be transferred to the Government Medical College Hospitals at Konni, Pathanamthitta, and Idukki, where there are no PG departments.However, it was later found that these institutions do not have specific posts to accommodate them. Thereafter, a decision was taken to transfer one of them to Idukki. She could be replaced with another faculty member in the same post from Idukki. The other faculty member could be shifted to the Kollam hospital in an existing post. Published - June 04, 2026 07:10 pm IST