K B Bhabha Hospital Violence: 4 doctors attacked after patient death, MARD demands enhanced security
Doctor Assault
Kurla: Four resident doctors were allegedly assaulted inside the gynaecology ward of K.B. Bhabha Hospital in Kurla following the death of a 29-year-old woman due to complications arising from an emergency Caesarean section, sparking outrage among medical professionals and renewed concerns over the safety of healthcare workers in government hospitals.
The incident occurred after a primigravida patient at 38 weeks of pregnancy was admitted to the labour ward with abdominal pain on May 12. When labour induction failed to progress, doctors performed an emergency Caesarean section late at night, delivering a healthy male baby weighing 2.95 kg.
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According to reports, on the following day, the patient remained under regular medical supervision and was administered fluids and supportive treatment. At around 7:30 p.m., she complained of abdominal pain, followed shortly by breathlessness at approximately 8:00 p.m. Doctors also noted an increase in abdominal girth. The medicine registrar was immediately called, and the patient was found to be disoriented with oxygen saturation levels dropping to 86 per cent. She was shifted to the EMS department on nasal oxygen support.
Despite continued treatment, her condition reportedly rapidly worsened. She was placed on a ventilator at 8:45 p.m., but could not be revived and was declared dead at 9:30 p.m.
Following her death, relatives allegedly became aggressive and assaulted four on-duty doctors. According to the complaint filed with the police, a senior resident doctor suffered injuries after her head was allegedly slammed against a wall. Another senior resident was reportedly kicked, while a junior resident was hit with a trolley. Another doctor was allegedly pushed to the ground and assaulted.
The situation escalated to such an extent that on-duty security personnel and police were unable to control the crowd, forcing hospital authorities to call emergency police assistance. The following morning, the assaulted doctors accompanied hospital officials to the police station to file an FIR.
The incident triggered outrage among resident doctors and medical associations. Doctors reportedly expressed unwillingness to continue OPD services after receiving threats from the deceased patient’s husband, who was allegedly moving around the hospital, threatening doctors. Senior police officers later intervened to counsel the resident doctors, while hospital security officials assured stricter safety measures and proposed enhanced security arrangements.
In a letter to the Municipal Commissioner, the BMC MARD (Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors) strongly condemned the attack, stating, “Violence against doctors is ultimately violence against the healthcare system itself. If healthcare professionals working in emergency settings are forced to function under fear and insecurity, the quality, efficiency, and continuity of patient care are inevitably affected.”
BMC MARD stands in unwavering solidarity with all affected doctors and healthcare workers of K.B Bhabha Hospital. We fully support the assaulted resident doctors and strongly believe that violence against healthcare workers must be treated as a zero-tolerance offence, the letter stated.
The association demanded strict legal action against the accused, fast-tracking of cases under healthcare worker protection laws, strengthening of hospital security infrastructure, deployment of adequately trained permanent security personnel, controlled access to emergency wards, functional CCTV systems, and rapid police response protocols.
