Junior docs go on strike after BHU students assault SSL Hosp staff

Varanasi: The junior resident doctors of the SSL Hospital of Banaras Hindu University went on an indefinite strike on Wednesday night following an attack by some BHU students earlier in late evening hours. Some senior residents also joined the stir on Thursday. The protesting medicos demanded arrest of the assailants in 48 hours and security for them. Inspector Lanka Ashwini Pandey said that on the complaint of deputy chief proctor of BHU Prof Lalit Agrawal, an FIR has been lodged against unidentified assailants under section 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting with deadly arms), 353 (criminal force done to deter a public servant from discharge of duty), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to public servant), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and section 3a and 4 of Uttar Pradesh Medicare Service Persons and Medicare Service, Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage to Property) Act, 2013 on Thursday. Police have started efforts to identify the assailants with the help of CCTV footage to initiate further action, he added.Chief proctor Prof Abhimanyu Singh said that immediately after the attack, he along with other officials and security personnel of proctorial board reached the emergency ward. According to reports, a group of students of different hostels had reached emergency ward on Wednesday late evening. The emergency ward was heavily crowded but the students started pressurising the junior residents to attend their patients first, said the chief proctor adding, when the junior residents asked them to wait for their turn the students attacked them with belts, sticks and sharp objects. Deputy medical superintendent, nursing superintendent, emergency in-charge Vivek Shrivastava, a woman resident and general medicine department Prof Dhiraj Kishore were injured in the attack. An FIR was registered on the basis of the complaint forwarded by the junior doctors, said prof Singh.However, deputy medical superintendent Dr Ankur Singh said that hospital work was not hampered due to the strike as senior doctors and consultants continued to run the outdoor patient unit, operation theatres, indoor patient unit and other services with the help of paramedical staff. Junior doctors in emergency services did not join the agitation but warned to join the strike if the assailants were not arrested in 48 hours.The university and hospital administration held talks with the protesters for over two hours in the morning to convince them to call off the stir, said deputy MS adding, but they were rigid on their demand to ensure arrest of assailants and proper security cover for them.
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