Shimla: A day after a video of two doctors allegedly assaulting a patient at Shimla’s Indira Gandhi Medical College went viral, the victim’s kin met Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and demanded the accused be booked under attempt to murder charges.
Dr Raghav Nurula—who was allegedly seen thrashing Arjun Panwar in the video that was widely shared online and drew condemnation as well as defence of the medic from a section of users—has been suspended. Another doctor was seen in the video, allegedly holding the patient’s legs.
Earlier in the day, the victim’s kin met with health minister Dhani Ram Shandil, demanding the duo be charged under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita section 109—attempt to murder—and sacked.
In the evening, Arjun’s brother Biju Panwar told ThePrint an FIR was registered, but attempt to murder charge has not been invoked.
The FIR has been registered under sections 115 (2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 35 (right of private defence of body and property) of the and 125 (A) (acts done rashly or negligently that endanger human life or personal safety) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, he said.
The family met the chief minister in the evening and demanded attempt to murder charge be included. “The CM said ‘okay, we’ll look into it,” Biju told ThePrint.
The 31-year-old doctor Narula, meanwhile, rejected the family’s claim that he misbehaved, instead accusing patient Arjun Panwar of abusing him and his family, punching him in the abdomen and “threatening to kill me”.
Hospital’s Medical Superintendent Rahul Rao earlier told the media action has been initiated against Dr Narula, a senior resident in the pulmonary department, and the management has sought a report on the incident. Further, action will be based on the findings of the report, he said.
Arjun’s family said they were not happy with the action taken so far, and demanded the second medic must also face action. “We want the termination of the doctors’ medical license,” Biju Panwar told ThePrint.
“If a doctor is behaving like that, how can the patients be safe in their hands? We want justice so that nobody else has to suffer such incidents.”
The two doctors allegedly assaulted Arjun at the government health facility on Monday when he had gone there for an endoscopy. Arjun, a 36-year-old resident of Kupvi, runs a canteen in the Aspire Coaching Centre in Shimla.
Biju said that after the initial check-ups, one of the doctors advised Arjun to rest for a few hours in an empty bed. As he rested, Biju claimed, the accused doctor arrived and allegedly began misbehaving with him.
“The doctor came and said, ‘tu yahan kahan se aaya, chal uth yahan se (how could you come here, get lost).’ When Arjun asked him to behave properly, the doctor lost his temper,” said Biju, adding the medic then started punching his brother.
In the video, shot by Arjun’s cousin, the doctor is seen hitting Arjun, who resists and retaliates while still lying in the bed. The video shows two other people trying to restrain them.
“He (Arjun) had gone for some oxygen check-up. And as you can see in the video, the doctor is hitting him on the chest. Anything would have happened,” Biju said.
After the assault, Arjun’s oxygen level dropped and he had to be admitted, Biju claimed, expressing disappointment that no action has been taken against the second doctor who is purportedly seen holding his brother’s legs while the other beat him.
“If he wanted, he could have intervened and saved my brother. But, he decided to chip in. He, too, should pay,” he said.
Biju said the cousin recorded the video because he “had no option”.
“There is no CCTV, no camera whatsoever in the hospital. There would have been no proof. Had he tried to stop the doctor, he would have only gotten accused of beating him. So he did the next best thing, he made a video so that there is some proof,” Biju explained.
The video of the incident sparked an outrage, following which local people staged protests, demanding strict action against the doctor.
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Protest, slogans and justice
Naresh Datsa, a native of Arjun’s village Kupvi, was at work when he came across a clip of Arjun’s assault. He got furious. He alerted a friends’ WhatsApp group of Kupvi residents working in Shimla. Within 15 minutes, they had gathered at the hospital.
“We raised slogans against the hospital and the doctors. The management eventually spoke to us and admitted this was the third complaint against the doctor,” said Datsa.
He also met Health Minister Shandil with the family on Tuesday. And, Shandil assured them of justice. “Right at that moment, he called the police officer on the spot and directed him to register a case under BNS 109(2),” Datsa said.
The FIR was registered after that.
What doctor says
Dr Nurula submitted a written complaint to the Medical Superintendent, State Association of Medical and Dental College Teachers (SAMDCOT), and the Resident Doctors’ Welfare Association.
In a statement to the media Tuesday evening, he claimed the patient started behaving in an “abusive, insulting, and non-cooperative manner” when he asked for his medical records, investigation reports, and X-ray films as per hospital protocol.
“(Arjun said) that he had already shown these documents to a ‘senior doctor’. He began addressing me with derogatory words,” Dr. Nurula wrote, adding the situation escalated.
“In the same sequence, he suddenly attacked me, punched me on my chest and kicked me in my abdomen. When I tried to defend myself, he attempted to assault me further and threatened to kill me.”
“The viral video is incomplete and distorted and does not reflect the actual sequence of events,” he said.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
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