Ratul Sharma (left) and Ashim Baruah on their way to lodge a police complaint in Dibrugarh. A Telegraph picture

Dibrugarh, May 20: Doctors forgot the Hippocratic oath, the stethoscope became a weapon and a father seeking emergency treatment for his two-year-old son received a few blows instead during an hour of shame at the region’s oldest medical college and hospital last night.

As many as 30 junior doctors assaulted Ashim Baruah, a Dibrugarh-based businessman, and his friend Ratul Sharma at the Assam Medical College and Hospital for allegedly trying to skip certain formalities and misbehaving with their colleagues. The fever-struck child who needed medical attention was forgotten in the melee.

Ashim and the registrar of the casualty department filed contrasting FIRs with the police this morning. While the management of the hospital, which had witnessed a similar scene two months ago, insisted that Ashim’s friend was drunk and aggressive towards the staff, the other party said the assault was unprovoked.

“I took my son to the paediatrics department in a serious condition, but the doctors and other staff were fast asleep. They refused to treat him immediately and angrily asked me and my friend to first get the registration done at the casualty department. We rushed to the casualty department, where everybody, including the doctor, was dozing off,” Ashim said.

Trouble began when the jittery father pleaded with the doctor to complete the paperwork in a hurry. “The doctor became angry and rang up his colleagues with his mobile phone. Within minutes, around 30 junior doctors, armed with stethoscopes, rods and sharp weapons, assembled at the casualty department and locked both of us in a room, where we were assaulted,” Baruah said.

The incident occurred around 11.30 pm.

Ashim’s elder sibling, Pranab Jyoti Baruah, said his brother and Ratul had “multiple injuries” on their bodies. Police took the duo to Dibrugarh Civil Hospital for a medical examination.

Dr Sadagar Deori, registrar of the casualty department, accused Ashim and Ratul of damaging property and intimidating the doctors on night duty. He named Dr Kundal Kanti Das, Dr Ritesh Kumar, Dr Bijoy Doley, Dr Simanta Doley and Dr Partha Pratim Dutta as witnesses in the case.

“We tried to calm them down, but they would not listen. Our FIR at Borbari police outpost contains all the details,” one of the junior doctors said.

The last time the AMCH was in the news for the wrong reason was on March 13, when a patient died of alleged medical negligence. Boisnab Gowala’s relatives filed an FIR, leading to the arrest of Dr Girin Gogoi, head of the department of medicine. He got bail later.

The episode also triggered a confrontation between the Assam Tea Tribes Students’ Association — the deceased was related to one of its leaders — and junior doctors of the institution. An inquiry instituted by the government is being conducted by the commissioner of Upper Assam, Hemanta Narzary.