Amritsar: Doctors end protest after police register case against attackers

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, October 16

Finally after the registration of an FIR against two persons, resident doctors at Government Medical College ended the protest and joined their duties here on Monday. The Resident Doctors’ Association had been staging a protest since last Friday after a junior resident doctor of the surgical ward was allegedly manhandled and injured by two relatives of a patient.

Manhandling of junior resident in hospital

After the police accepted the first demand of the Resident Doctors’ Association regarding the registration of a criminal case, the college management too accepted their second demand for increasing the security of the medical personnel as it had allotted a room at the emergency block of the hospital for stationing policemen.

A junior resident doctor was manhandled by two persons, whose relative was admitted to the children’s ward, on October 13. The postgraduate student-cum-Junior Resident got injuries on the nose, stomach and throat. The incident infuriated the medical fraternity and they started an indefinite protest demanding the registration of a case against the culprits and security cover for the medical staff.

Dr Arshmeet Singh, president of the Resident Doctors’ Association, said, “It is a matter of satisfaction that the police have also invoked sections of the Punjab Protection of Medicare Persons and Medicare Service Institutions (prevention of violence and damage to property) Act.

The police have registered an FIR under Sections 353, 186, 323, 506 and 34 of the IPC and Sections 2 and 3 of the Punjab Protection of Medicare Persons and Medicare Service institutions (Prevention of violence and damage to property) Act.

Dr R S Sethi, senior vice-president, IMA, Punjab, who also reached the college to express solidarity with the doctors, said, “Acts of violence against medical professionals when a patient unfortunately dies or otherwise are not uncommon. Even as no medical professional would ever want to harm a patient, they are manhandled or abused without any fault on their part.” Sethi said strict punishments against the perpetrators of such acts of violence would act as a deterrent.

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