Shimla, Dec. 22 -- A junior resident doctor allegedly assaulted a patient, throwing multiple punches, following an argument at a prominent hospital here on Monday, sparking a protest with the victim's relatives demanding that he be handed over to them after a video of the shocking incident appeared on social media.
As outrage mounted, Dr Rahul Rao, Medical Superintendent of Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC), said a committee has been constituted to probe the incident following the directions of Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.
The doctor, Raghav Narula, who is a contractual employee, has been suspended, pending the inquiry, while the family of the victim has also filed a police complaint, officials said.
The video, which was shot by a person who was present in the ward, showed the doctor punching the patient, Arjun Singh, who was lying on the bed, in the face. The patient is seen resisting by kicking, while two other persons try to restrain both of them. Singh, a resident of Kupvi in Shimla, suffered a nose injury in the incident.
Tensions flared up as hundreds of people, including the relatives and friends of the victim, along with other patients held a protest in the hospital premises, demanding the arrest of the doctor.
The protesters barged into the hospital and tried to go to the room where the doctor was kept, demanding that the hospital authorities hand him over. However, the situation was controlled by police personnel who were present there.
Later, speaking to media persons, Singh said that he suffers from pulmonary issues and had visited the hospital for a bronchoscopy. He said that following the test, he started to feel shortness of breath and was advised by the hospital staff to take rest.
He said that after this, he went to the pulmonary medicine ward and lay down on a vacant bed to take rest. However, after a few minutes, two doctors approached him and started to misbehave with him, after which he urged them to be respectful, Singh claimed.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.