The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)-Patna administration on Monday lodged an FIR against CPI leader and former president of Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU), Kanhaiya Kumar, accusing him and his supporters of misbehaving with junior doctors and abusing hospital staff and security guards on Sunday evening on being denied entry, in a group, to meet a patient.
In its FIR, the AIIMS-Patna administration claimed Kanhaiya arrived with a huge group to meet AISF state secretary Sushil Kumar, who recently underwent shoulder surgery. But when hospital staff asked Kanhaiya and his supporters to meet the patient one by one, they misbehaved with and abused them.
“Around 100 people, including Kanhaiya, had come,” AIIMS-Patna medical superintendent Dr C.M. Singh said. “As per hospital norm only 1-2 attendants are allowed to meet a patient, but Kanhaiya and his supporters insisted on meeting the patient in a group. Hospital staff stopped them at two places but were abused by Kanhaiya and his supporters. His supporters even slapped our guard and did not allow him to video-record them trying to enter by force.”
Phulwarisharif station house officer Mohammad Qaisar Alam said the FIR claims a doctor’s cellphone was snatched,
The case was lodged under sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 353 (assault to deter public servant from discharge of his/her duty), 379 (punishment for theft), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (intent to provoke breach of peace) and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of IPC.
Sources said some junior and senior AIIMS doctors met director Dr Prabhat Kumar Singh on Monday and threatened a strike unless an FIR was lodged against Kanhaiya by 5pm. They posted a 3-second video on social media, titled “Stop violence against doctor”. But nothing was clear.
AISF blames doctors
On Monday evening, AISF national general secretary Vishwajeet Kumar claimed at a press meet that junior doctors had misbehaved with Kanhaiya on Union minister of state for health Ashwini Kumar Choubey’s directions. He claimed just six escorts and another person had accompanied Kanhaiya and not around a 100. He also refuted claims that Kanhaiya or his supporters abused staff. AISF district secretary Janmejay Kumar said Kanhaiya’s supporters had snatched a security guard’s cellphone “because there was no need, as normal interaction was taking place then”.
The AISF people claimed AIIMS doctors were denying Sushil treatment and even bullying him on Union minister Choubey’s instructions. A senior AIIMS-Patna official said Sushil himself had refuted the AISF’s claim.
Kanhaiya’s close associate Varun was with him when the incident happened. “There was no scuffle. We entered the hospital with 5-6 people including two policemen who escort Kanhaiya everywhere. The doctor misbehaved with Kanhaiya and kept on taunting him. It was a plot to defame him,” he said.
CCTV missing
What actually happened at AIIMS-Patna would have been clear had CCTV recordings been available. A senior administrative official at AIIMS-Patna said CCTVs were yet to be installed in all areas and a few that were installed were not functional. AISF national general secretary Vishwajeet said the AIIMS administration would have provided CCTV footage of the fracas had Kanhaiya been in the wrong.
BJP slams Kanhaiya
State health minister Mangal Pandey said Kanhaiya’s behaviour at AIIMS-Patna reflected nothing but hooliganism. “Jail is the only place
for such people,” Mangal said, adding that he had spoken to the AIIMS-Patna director and asked him to take necessary action.
