Haryana doctors suspend OPD services after assault on CHC doctor

Karnal: Doctors across Haryana have announced a one-day suspension of OPD services following an alleged assault on an on-duty doctor working at the Community Health Centre (CHC) in Gharaunda, Karnal district of Haryana. 

The protest, led by the Haryana Civil Medical Services Association (HCMSA), comes amid a standoff between doctors and the police. The doctors have demanded legal action and the immediate arrest of the personnel involved in the incident.

The association has sought registration of a case against the Station House Officer (SHO) of Gharaunda, Inspector, along with other police personnel allegedly involved in the assault. Doctors have also called for a time-bound probe into the incident, saying that violence against medical professionals while on duty is unacceptable and undermines the functioning of public healthcare facilities.

Medical Dialogues recently reported that in an alleged case of violence against healthcare professionals, a medical officer posted at the Community Health Centre (CHC) in Gharaunda, Karnal district, Haryana, was allegedly assaulted, verbally abused, and forcibly taken by the police following a heated phone exchange with a station house officer (SHO). Taking action in the case, Karnal Superintendent of Police Narender Bijrania confirmed that the SHO involved in the incident has been suspended and a departmental enquiry has been initiated.

According to The Hindu, the protest has also received support from the Indian Medical Association (IMA), Haryana chapter. The doctors’ body has urged authorities to file an FIR under the Haryana Medicare Service Persons and Medicare Service Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage to Property) Act, 2009. The IMA has also written to Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, requesting intervention and protection for healthcare workers.

The association earlier wrote a letter to the Haryana CM in which they said, “It is disturbing when the force designed for the protection of the law-abiding citizens becomes a source of intimidation and brutality, and that too of an on-duty government doctor”. The organisation described the officer’s behaviour as “high-handed” and demanded exemplary punishment.

CCTV footage of the incident reportedly shows the police officer confronting and assaulting the doctor while another individual tries to intervene. The doctor was allegedly grabbed by the collar, slapped, and pushed into a police vehicle while he was performing official duty inside the hospital premises.

The district unit of HCMSA alleged that the doctor was taken to a police station and illegally detained for nearly an hour. During this time, he was reportedly forced to write an apology before being released following intervention from senior administrative officials.