Bhubaneswar, June 24: The Puri district police today arrested a member of the Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee and secretary of the Daitapati Niyog Premananda Das Mohapatra for allegedly assaulting a doctor of the district hospital.

His son-in-law Nabakrushan Prusty was also taken into custody for assisting his father-in-law in the crime. The two were sent to jail today after a local court rejected their bail pleas. The doctor has suffered grave injuries and has been shifted to the SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack.

Police sources said that Das Mohapatra had gone to the hospital on Thursday night for the treatment of his grandson. The doctor on duty, Khirod Chandra Pal, had asked him to get an admission ticket first and then admit the child for treatment.

Instead of bringing the admission ticket, Das Mohapatra had reportedly sought the contact number of the chief medical officer so that he could lodge a complaint of harassment against Pal. When Pal refused to give him the chief medical officer's number and insisted on getting the admission ticket before any treatment could be started, Das Mohapatra allegedly beat him up.

Pal later told newspersons: "Das Mohapatra came to the hospital along with his supporters and said that his grandson was suffering from stomach ailment. I asked them to admit the child and bring an admission ticket first following the rules. Once the child's name is enrolled, the child will be administered saline. But he was in no mood to listen to me and demanded the chief medical officer's mobile number. When I refused to oblige him, he used abusive languages and hit me with an iron stool."

Additional superintendent of police Jagannath Pradhan said: "A case has been lodged. We have arrested the main accused. Others who were involved in the attack will also be arrested shortly."

Das Mohapatra, who had lodged a counter complaint against the doctor for allegedly assaulting his daughter who had accompanied him, said, "Instead of treating the child first, the doctor delayed the treatment process. He even misbehaved with me and my daughter. When I took up the issue, an exchange of words took place."

In protest against the attack on the doctor, the doctors at the hospital had stopped working for some time today demanding enhanced security and immediate action against the culprits.