1,200 resident doctors strike against assault on colleagues

MUMBAI: More than 1,200 resident doctors of state-run King Edward Memorial (KEM) hospital here have called for a strike against the alleged assault on three of their colleagues by relatives of a minor boy who died of dengue in the wee hours today.

Protesting doctors have demanded that until an FIR is not filed under Doctors Prevention Act and the accused arrested, they will continue with mass bunking.

"Our colleagues Dr Suhas, Dr Kushal and Dr Puneet were assaulted by relatives and beaten by iron rods leaving bruise marks all over their bodies," said Dr Amit Lomte, Vice President of Central MARD, the body regulating resident doctors in Maharashtra.

Neither police nor the hospital administration have come forward to listen to our anguish, he claimed.

The doctors were said to be beaten after they failed to admit the boy suffering from dengue into the ICU ward on account of alleged non-availability of beds.

The boy was later admitted to the general ward around 9 pm last night.

The boy, aged around 10, died around 1.30 AM after which his infuriated relatives allegedly roughed up the three doctors with rods and abused them, said Lomte.

All the three injured doctors have been hospitalised.