Health minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey

The pre-final-year MBBS students, who had assaulted a professor at Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) over assessment marks, are at large even 36 hours after the incident.

The police have even failed to lodge an FIR against the culprits.

The failure on the part of the police is contradictory to health minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey’s “no tolerance” stand on such incidents. He assured on Wednesday strict disciplinary action against students involved in the act.

The college administration is still waiting for a written complaint from Dr S.K. Jaiswal, head of the ear, nose, throat (ENT) department, who was assaulted by the pre-final-year MBBS students, before registering a case.

PMCH principal Dr N.P. Yadav said Jaiswal has been unwell since the incident occurred on Tuesday and is on leave.

“We got an instruction from the health minister and (health department) principal secretary Amarjeet Sinha to lodge an FIR in this connection. However, we cannot register a police case without Jaiswal’s complaint since it was he who was primarily targeted by the students,” said Yadav.

He added that Jaiswal has assured that he will give his statement by Thursday, after which necessary action would be taken.

Israr Ahmad, the Pirbhore police station house officer, under whose jurisdiction PMCH falls, said: “The doctor may be fearing repercussions from the students and is therefore, not coming forward to lodge a complaint.”

He added: “We have been persuading the college authorities to submit a written complaint but they have put the onus on Jaiswal, who seems to be totally traumatised after the incident. We are waiting for their report.”

On Tuesday, over 50 pre-final-year MBBS students created a ruckus in the PMCH outpatient department and allegedly assaulted Jaiswal, accusing him of deliberately disqualifying nine students in the internal assessment.

The students were reportedly demanding that their flunked batchmates be given grace marks and had asked Jaiswal to sign on a paper on which they had scribbled the desired marks for them. After the professor declined, the angry students beat him up.

The students also roughed up mediapersons and damaged hospital property. They also broke the windshield of Jaiswal’s car.