Karnataka: Woman Assaulted Doctor at Chikamagaluru Hospital, Staff Stage Protest Demanding Safety Measures

BENGALURU: Doctors and staff of the Araluguppe Mallegowda District Hospital in Chikamagaluru protested and closed down the outpatient department, following an alleged attack on an emergency doctor by a relative of an admitted patient. The incident took place when an unidentified female, relative of the patient, who has been identified as Taslim, allegedly grabbed the collar of Dr. Venkatesh B.S. and then flung her shoe at him before the hospital staff intervened on time.

Dr. Venkatesh was attending to Irfan, who had been brought into the casualty ward after a scuffle with injuries. A group of relatives of Irfan had gathered in the treatment area and became boisterous, at which the doctor asked them to move out of the room to continue the examination. This resulted in a heated argument.

According to sources in the hospital, Taslim, a relative of the patient, got furious while Dr Venkatesh tried to pacify him. First, she dragged him by his collar. Then she flung her shoe at him, turning an argument into a physical fight.

The hospital staff and doctors, as a result of the incident, closed the outpatient department and staged a protest in front of the district surgeon's office, demanding the immediate arrest of the accused who were involved in the assault case and asking for more security measures to safeguard the medical staff of the hospital.

A letter was immediately dispatched from the district surgeon's office to the local police, accusing the patient's relatives of abusing and assaulting the doctor and threatening his life. The hospital officials demanded registration of the case and extra security for medical personnel.

The incident fomented outrage on social media as well. BJP MLC CT Ravi shared a video of the scuffle on 'X'. He sought immediate action against miscreants and protection to healthcare workers from the Home Minister.

An FIR was registered and the woman who assaulted one of the doctors was detained, said Chikkamagaluru Superintendent of Police Vikram Amathe. "We addressed the concerns of the protesting doctors and assured them that necessary legal action had been resorted to, after which the protest has been called off," he said.

The attack comes after demands by medical professionals all across India for increased legal protection at the workplace, following a string of high-profile incidents of violence against doctors, including the one in Kolkata recently.

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