NEW DELHI, Dec 22: A video of a doctor allegedly assaulting a patient at Shimla’s Indira Gandhi Medical College made viral on the social media on Monday has triggered protests demanding strict action against the doctor.
Rahul Rao, Medical Superintendent of the hospital, said action against the accused doctor has been initiated and a report has been sought. Further action would be taken after the report was received, he said. Mr Rao added that the victim has lodged a police complaint and an FIR has been filed against the doctor.
In the viral video, the doctor is seen punching a patient who was lying on a hospital bed. The patient is seen resisting by kicking, while two other persons try to restrain both of them. The patient reportedly suffered a nose injury in the incident. The video, shot by a person accompanying the patient, sparked a furore after it was widely shared on social media, following which hundreds of people staged a protest outside the hospital premises.
According to the victim, a resident of Nerwa in Shimla district, he had come to the hospital for endoscopy and was advised by a doctor to rest for a few hours. He said that he was asked to lie down on a vacant bed. While he was resting, the accused doctor arrived and allegedly began misbehaving with him.
The victim claimed that when he asked the doctor to behave respectfully, the doctor assaulted him. The accused doctor, however, claimed that the patient had misbehaved with him. Following the incident, patients and local residents staged protests, demanding strict action against the doctor.
(Manas Dasgupta)