No FIR yet in Cooper Hospital assault case; Maha resident doctors threaten mass leave

Mumbai: Two days have passed since three doctors at Dr R.N. Cooper Municipal General Hospital were allegedly assaulted inside the casualty ward by relatives of a deceased patient. However, no First Information Report (FIR) has been registered against the attackers so far.

On Saturday evening, the day when the doctors were allegedly assaulted, several resident doctors from Cooper Hospital staged a mass sit-in protest, holding placards and chanting “We want justice.”

Sources from the Central MARD (Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors) told Medical Dialogues that the police have not registered an FIR despite the doctors filing a complaint, which contradicts the central government’s directive. The Union government has instructed that all medical institutions and government hospitals must register an FIR within six hours of any assault on medical practitioners.

Also read- Violence caught on camera: Cooper Hospital Casualty doctors attacked after patient death

Demanding permanent deployment of trained, armed, and accountable security personnel—especially in emergency and critical departments like casualty, ICU, and OBGY wards—under round-the-clock CCTV monitoring, medical associations such as FAIMA, BMC MARD, and Central MARD have issued a warning. They said that if their demands are not met by 5 p.m. on Monday, November 10, resident doctors across all BMC-run hospitals, including KEM, Sion, Nair, and Cooper, will go on mass leave, suspending all non-emergency services, according to a Free Press Journal news report.

Medical Dialogues recently reported that a Casualty Medical Officer, a resident doctor from the Medicine department, and an intern doctor of Dr R.N. Cooper Municipal General Hospital were allegedly assaulted inside the casualty ward while on duty by the relatives of a deceased patient.

According to the doctors, the attackers repeatedly struck the three doctors on the face, chest, and abdomen with extreme force, resulting in injuries, and they are currently under treatment. What was shocking was that the doctors claimed hospital security personnel were present during the incident, but did not intervene and remained silent spectators.

Calling the attack not just an act of violence but a brutal assault on humanity and the medical fraternity that works to save lives, the Central MARD (Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors) demanded the immediate arrest of the culprits and the suspension of the negligent security staff who failed to protect the doctors.

CCTV footage of the incident went viral on social media, showing a male attendant punching the doctor in the face as soon as he was informed about the patient’s death. He then attacked the doctor repeatedly before assaulting another doctor.

Also read- Hospitals must register FIR within 6 hours of assault on doctors: MoS Health tells Parliament