Nov. 1: City-based doctors today started their weeklong agitation by wearing black badges in protest against alleged police highhandedness on physicians of a private hospital following the death of a senior lady police official, Manorama Kakati Bhuyan, last week.

Bhuyan was admitted to the hospital for a gall bladder operation.

Doctors at both government and private hospitals wore the black badges and resolved to wear it till city police come out with a ?public apology?. The doctors have alleged that three of their colleagues were detained for 18 hours at the Paltan Bazar police station. The Junior Doctors? Association and faculties of Gauhati Medical College Hospital (GMCH), while extending full support to the agitation, appealed to the medical fraternity to carry out their duties till next Monday by wearing black badges.

Sources said a core committee formed on Saturday at the GMCH campus would submit memorandums to chief minister Tarun Gogoi and director-general of police, P.V. Sumant, demanding action against the erring police officials within a day or two.

A senior doctor said the black badge programme was the first phase of the agitation. He said the agitation would gain steam if the police did not seek apology and withdraw the case against the three doctors of the private hospital where the lady police official had died during an operation.

The police have filed a case under Section 304 (A)/34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The section deals with death due to negligence. Doctors of private hospitals will go for a 24-hour ceasework on November 8 if the administration did not fulfil their demands.

The police had yesterday denied detaining the doctors. Additional superintendent of police Bibekananda Das said the doctors were only questioned at the police station.

Reacting sharply to Das? statement, agitating doctors said the police had misbehaved with their colleagues.

?The police could have called up the physicians next morning to ask the questions,? said a doctor of the private hospital, where Kakati Bhuyan breathed her last.

The agitation programme was chalked out during a two-hour-long meeting on Saturday, attended by more than 70 representatives of the Indian Medical Association, Assam chapter of the Indian Surgical Association, Guwahati Anaesthesiologists Forum, JDA, Medical Teachers Association and GMCH Students Union.