PUTHUKKAD: A young doctor, who secured the 10th rank in the post of Assistant Professor in the Department of Medical Education, died during a journey after suffering from chest pain. The deceased has been identified as Puthukkad native Dr Sijil (44). He was an Assistant Professor and Gastroenterologist at Manjali Sreenarayana Medical College, North Paravur. On Tuesday morning, locals found Dr Sijil lying unconscious in his car near the road at Harippad. Though they rushed him to a nearby hospital, he could not be saved. He died of a heart attack.

Sijil had been trying for the job for a long time. He died while returning home from Thiruvananthapuram after visiting the Health Minister and some officials at the Secretariat.

Eight people were appointed from the rank list. Even though there were vacancies in various medical college hospitals, including Kalamassery, Sijil did not receive an appointment as the vacancies were not reported. The rank list expired on Sunday.

It is concluded that Dr Sijil did not get the appointment due to the negligence of the officials. He would have got the appointment if the authorities had appointed two more people.

Dr Sijil, who had completed MBBS from Govt Medical College in Thrissur and an MD from Manipal, had also completed his Super Specialty in Gastroenterology from Thiruvananthapuram Govt Medical College. Son of Pazhayi native Sivaraman and Pankaja, Dr Sijil Sivaraman had also garnered attention on social media by sharing stories about his homeland and nostalgic posts.

Sijil used to give free treatment to the natives who came to his clinic in Kodungallur. He also used to spread awareness about diseases through his YouTube channel. He is survived by wife Dr Lakshmi Ashok, children Sanjeev and Sreeya.