Jharkhand doctors boycott work to condemn assault on doctor at MGM Medical College

Jamshedpur: Over 14,000 doctors in government and private hospitals to boycott work indefinitely from 6 am on Friday in protest against the alleged assault of a colleague in Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College and Hospital (MCMMCH) Jamshedpur.

Doctors in Jharkhand will boycott work indefinitely from Friday in protest against the alleged assault of a colleague in Jamshedpur. Jharkhand IMA secretary Pradip Kumar Singh Thursday claimed that over 14,000 doctors in government and private hospitals will participate in the agitation. 

Emergency services in the hospitals have, however, been exempted from the agitation, he said. “The agitation will continue till all the accused in the assault of a doctor of Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College Hospital (MGMMCH) in Jamshedpur are arrested,” he said.

The boycott will begin at 6 am on Friday and will continue till all accused in the assault are arrested, Singh said. “We have been demanding implementation of Medical Protection Act to avoid such incidents. We were just given assurances, but no concrete step has been taken so far. The government has adopted a lackadaisical approach towards our long pending demands, which is not acceptable.”

As per a media report in The Hindustan Times, IMA-Jamshedpur secretary Dr Saurabh Chaudhary said, “The perpetrators are clearly visible, but none of the main accused has been arrested yet. Rural SP Rishabh Garg told us that their teams are raiding in three districts. As soon as we get confirmation from the police of the culprits getting arrested, we will call off our strike. We also demand a permanent police picket at MGMMCH.”

Rural Superintendent of Police (SP) Rishabh Garg told the IMA and JSHSA delegation on Wednesday that they have arrested eight suspects. However, doctors claimed that none of the culprits visible in the video beating the doctors have been arrested yet.

The strike notice have been sent to the secretary of the health department, director of Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences in Ranchi, deputy commissioners and civil surgeons of all 24 districts of Jharkhand.