The in-charge of the Bankebazar primary health centre (PHC) has submitted an application to civil surgeon Krishna Mohan Purwe alleging that the Bankebazar station house officer misbehaved and beat up him at gun-point.

The medical fraternity has called a strike of all PHCs in the district.

In the complaint, the doctor Awadhesh Kumar has said that SHO Ashok Chaudhary visited the PHC around 10pm on Tuesday and forced him to visit Dongila, a nearby village, to attend to a patient.

"I expressed inability to accompany the SHO. He was in an inebriated condition, he brandished a gun and started beating me up. There were other patients admitted at the PHC and I was the only doctor there. Therefore I requested the SHO to spare me. But the SHO did not listen to me and started abusing me."

The complaint, copies of which have been sent to senior police officers in Gaya district and the Magadh division, stated: "Due to fear, I had to visit the village in an ambulance."

Taking note of the incident, Magadh range deputy inspector-general (DIG) of police Saurabh Kumar has asked the Gaya senior superintendent of police (SSP) Garima Malik, to conduct an investigation into the incident and verify the allegations made by the doctor.

In reaction to the incident, the medical fraternity stopped work at all the PHCs of the district from 12noon on Wednesday.

Bihar State Health Services Association (BSHSA) spokesperson Umesh Kumar Verma said: "A meeting will be called tomorrow (on Thursday) again to decide whether the strike would continue."

However, emergency services and a pulse polio drive have been spared from the strike. A meeting of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), Gaya branch, was also held on Wednesday evening.

On the other hand, the civil surgeon and Sherghati deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Upendra Prasad visited Bankebazar and enquired about the incident.