Patient grabs woman doctor by hair, pins her to ground at Mohali hospital; arrested

Mohali: An on-duty woman medical officer was allegedly assaulted by a patient at a government sub-divisional hospital in Kharar, Punjab. The patient allegedly grabbed her by the hair, pinned her to the ground and tore her clothes before damaging hospital property. The accused was arrested after hospital staff managed to overpower him following nearly an hour of disruption on Saturday night.

The incident occurred around 8 pm on October 24, when the man arrived at the hospital for treatment. According to the complaint filed by the doctor, he began arguing with her during the examination before allegedly attacking her. When other hospital staff intervened, he reportedly assaulted them as well and vandalised property inside the facility.

The doctor, a resident of Aerocity Mohali, stated that while she was conducting his check-up, he started arguing with her over something and soon grabbed her by her hair and tore her shirt, she alleged. “When the other staff present there rushed to stop him, he began fighting with them also. The man then turned to vandalising the hospital. After much effort by staff, he was finally overpowered and handed over to the police,” she stated in her complaint to the police, The Tribune reported.

Police registered a case at Kharar City police station under Sections 115(2), 76, 132 and 221 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), covering voluntary hurt, criminal force against a woman with intent to disrobe her, assault on a public servant and obstruction of a public servant in the discharge of public functions. Provisions of the Public Property Prevention of Damage Act were also invoked. The accused was subsequently arrested.

The incident has once again raised concerns over the safety of healthcare workers in government hospitals. The Punjab Civil Medical Services Association (PCMSA) condemned the alleged assault and pointed out that no security personnel were deployed at the hospital when the incident occurred.

In its statement, the association also called for the immediate deployment of 287 security guards at sub-divisional hospitals across Punjab.

According to the association, the proposal for deploying security personnel is at an advanced stage of consideration by the Punjab Health Systems Corporation (PHSC). The PCMSA has called for its implementation without further delay and set November 12 as the deadline for rolling out Phase II of the security framework covering sub-divisional hospitals across the state.