Over 135 doctors boycott duty at Dhanbad hospital after mob attacks female medico

Written by Sanchari Chattopadhyay Published On 2021-11-27T09:30:46+05:30 | Updated On 27 Nov 2021 9:31 AM IST

Over 135 doctors boycott duty at Dhanbad hospital after mob attacks female medico

Dhanbad: Triggered by alleged abuse and assault of a female junior doctor by a mob of attendants, around 137 junior doctors including interns and resident doctors of Shahid Nirmal Mahto Memorial Medical College and Hospital boycotted work demanding justice for the medico.

The alleged manhandling took place following the death of a shootout incident victim at the facility. As per the junior doctors the mob created mayhem for the first time when the patient was declared dead and second time at post-mortem.

During the course, a female doctor was attacked. In protest, the doctors boycotted service and demanded the authorities to ensure the security of the doctors in the hospital. The emergency services in the hospital remained affected for more than five hours in the evening.

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As per various media accounts, over hundreds of Wasseypur residents became berserk and stormed in the emergency after the death of Naya Bazaar's property dealer Mahtab Alam alias Nanhey, who was shot at in Wasseypur in the afternoon.

The supporters of Wasseypur's slain realtor assaulted the female junior doctor. The group pulled her by holding her hand and compelled her to treat him.

"Assaulters were not only abusing the doctors but were also threatening to turn the hospital into a graveyard. The police on duty had become mute spectators. So, for our safety we went to the DC residence," a junior doctor told a local daily.

The protesting doctors have also met Dhanbad Deputy Commissioner, Sandeep Singh at his residence immediately after the incident took place. The Telegraph reports that describing the incident, the doctors have demanded proper security at the hospital. The doctors claimed that such incidents of violence and assault by family members and relatives of the patients and those anti-social elements are quite frequent in the hospitals and it has disrupted the working atmosphere at the hospital.

"Mob of attendants entered the emergency and assaulted us for the death of a patient. So, we asked the DC to set up a police picket on the campus and order to allow only one attendant with a patient. We also want the arrest of the people who assaulted the doctors including female medicos," stated a junior doctor after meeting the DC.

DC has assured them that proper security measures will be installed at the hospital. He also promised to initiate a probe into the alleged manhandling as mentioned by the junior doctors. However, the junior doctors boycotted their work demanding strict action against the accused. According to the daily, the hospital's emergency as well as OPD services were crippled.

The medical college and hospital is the only health care destination that provides for over 50 lakh people of Dhanbad and several adjoining districts including, Giridih, Jamtara, Dumka, Godda, Pakur, Sahebganj and others. However, several incidents recently took place at SNMMCH which seemed to indicate the insufficient security system of the hospital, adds the daily.

Dr Arun Kumar Baranwal, the superintendent of SNMMCH also agreed that there is a lack of security in the hospital and stated, "We have demanded beefing up of security at the hospital premise but at the same time, we do not support the strike."

Shahid Nirmal Mahto Memorial Medical College and Hospitalprotestviolencedoctor assaultSNMMCHdoctor manhandleddoctors safetyjharkhandjunior doctorresident doctorsfemale doctordoctor abusedmob attack

Source : with inputs

Sanchari Chattopadhyay

Sanchari Chattopadhyay has pursued her M.A in English and Culture Studies from the University of Burdwan, West Bengal. She likes observing cultural specificities and exploring new places.