Ajay Kumar at the news meet in Patna on Wednesday. Picture by Ashok Sinha

Members of the Indian Medical Association state branch will observe a daylong hunger strike on July 1.

The decision was taken at a meeting to protest against Tuesday’s incident in which IMA member and urologist Ajay Kumar was attacked by the family members of a patient after he died 15 minutes after a surgery.

Family members of Dinesh Kumar (35) allegedly vandalised a private hospital in Rajeev Nagar on Tuesday. Dinesh was admitted to the hospital with problem in the prostate gland. But soon after the surgery, he died. While doctors at the private hospital said he had died because of some complications, his family members alleged negligence. No sooner had Dinesh died than his family members ransacked the hospital and attacked the doctors, including Kumar.

“The state government has totally failed to provide security to the medical fraternity. Every other day, we hear incidents in which a doctor or the other has been beaten up by family members of the patients. We have been asking the state government to make some security arrangement in government and private hospitals but to no avail. This has compelled us to call a strike on July 1,” said Kumar, the IMA general secretary in a news meet on Wednesday.

“This is pathetic that the doctors are not feeling safe in this state but so far the state government has done nothing to address this issue,” Kumar said.

The Bihar Health Service Association (BHSA) members have also extended their support to the strike. “We are angry. I don’t think we can be consoled. We cannot have doctors being assaulted. We save lives but if our lives is in danger because of negligence of the state government, we have no other way but to put up a protest,” said Ranjit, the spokesperson for BHSA.

Ranjit added: “The BHSA is also going to hold a rally on July 14. We are adamant to go on an indefinite strike on August 9 if our demands are not met before this.”