Patna, July 11: Around 100 junior doctors and interns at Nalanda Medical College and Hospital went on strike today, accusing police of assaulting their colleagues two nights ago.
The junior doctors — postgraduate students of the institute — claimed traffic cops entered their hostel on Wednesday night and assaulted them. Earlier in the day, four students had been detained for not wearing helmets. Following a scuffle between the police and the students in front of the institute, an FIR was lodged against 25 of the medicos.
Sukesh Kumar, one of the students, said: “We want the police to take back the FIRs. We also want the errant cops to be suspended. We would continue our strike till our demands are fulfilled.”
City superintendent of police Ashish Bharti denied that the officers assaulted the students at their hostel at night.
While patients in the indoor and the outpatient departments of NMCH had a tough time in absence of the junior doctors, the administration claimed there was no problem.
Munni Devi, a patient, said: “I fell off the roof and was admitted to the hospital yesterday. The doctors dressed my head wound yesterday and I had no problem, but today is a completely different story. I am in a lot of pain.”
R.R. Choudhary, head of department, medicine, said: “Our hospital does not depend on junior doctors and interns like Patna Medical College and Hospital does. So the strike did not affect the hospital’s functioning. The junior doctors and interns, too, held a peaceful protest.”
Recently, junior doctors of PMCH too had gone on strike after an alleged clash with some Special Task Force personnel. The state’s Indian Medical Association supported the junior doctors’ stand.
“A wrong impression is being created about the doctors. Whenever there is any incident, the administration and police try to blame the doctors. I heard the police lathi-charged some junior doctors after they flouted traffic rules. They should have adopted a humanitarian approach,” said Rajiv Ranjan Prasad, the association’s president.
