“For the first time, we were made to feel like we’re Muslims,” says Mehfuza Khatun, a relative of a seven-month pregnant woman who was allegedly verbally abused and refused medical care by a doctor in Kolkata — simply because she is a Muslim.
The incident occurred during a routine prenatal check-up at the clinic of Dr CK Sarkar, who had been treating the woman, referred to as A*, for the past seven months. According to the family, everything changed the moment the doctor read her full name.
“The doctor took her consultation fee and started writing her name,” said Khatun. “Then she asked her full name again. When she heard it, she said things that shocked us. She told her, ‘Go to madrasas or mosques for your treatment. That’s where they teach you how to become terrorists.’”
The incident took place just days after a deadly attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir, where over 25 people, most of them tourists, were killed. The doctor allegedly invoked the tragedy to spew hate against A*.
“She told her, ‘You people killed innocent Hindus in Pahalgam. You should be killed too. Your husband should be murdered by Hindus so that you know what it feels like,’” Khatun told The Observer Post.
A* had gone alone for the check-up, accompanied only by her two-and-a-half-year-old daughter. Terrified by the remarks, she rushed home without completing her appointment. Later, after gathering courage, she called the doctor to ask why she was treated this way.
“We have a recording of that call,” Khatun said. “A* asked her, ‘Why did you insult me like this?’ The doctor replied, ‘What I did was right. You people are uneducated murderers.’ She repeated those same hateful words and then cut the call.”
The family says A* has since become mentally distressed and is refusing further care from the doctor. “Pregnancy requires stability, both physical and emotional,” said Khatun. “But she’s now scared, broken. She’s not in a good mental space.”
They’ve filed a complaint with the local police and approached the health department — but so far, little has moved. “They want documented proof,” said Khatun. “We have the call recording, but they say that might not be enough.”
Meanwhile, the doctor has allegedly started texting the family, saying, “Don’t harass me unnecessarily.”
“But who is harassing whom here?” asks Khatun. “Refusing treatment is one thing. But calling us terrorists and murderers? Saying Hindus should kill my brother? That’s not just medical negligence — it’s hate speech.”
What stings the most, she says, is not just the words, but the silence that follows. “We are educated people. Some of us are lawyers, some are doctors. And yet, this happened to us. If we are treated like this, what happens to poor Muslims with no voice, no support?”
A*’s family says the doctor lives in the same residential complex as her husband. Since the incident, A* has been living in fear.
“She doesn’t let us leave the house. She says she’s scared someone will attack us next,” Khatun said. “She won’t eat properly, she barely sleeps. She’s constantly anxious.”
Khatun said that the family is committed to pursuing justice through legal means. “We haven’t even told our father yet,” she said. “We don’t want any chaos. We just want justice — peacefully.”
She added, “Even as a lawyer, I’m scared. We have money, education, and connections — and still, we’re treated like this. Imagine the fear of those who have nothing.”
