Protest in Silchar Medical College against assault on doctors; “We want justice” slogan raised

The PGT Union, JDA, students union along with the support of faculty and staff of Silchar Medical College staged a massive protest today at the premises. They echoed the sentiments of doctors all around the country and voiced their support for the injured doctors.

“Our demand is that the government should ensure a safe working environment for doctors serving patients. This is a basic human right. There should be stricter laws which ensure that no one dares to assault doctors in a hospital,” said doctor Nilanjana Choudhury, department of microbiology, Silchar Medical College and Hospital.

The principal of SMCH, doctor Babul Bezbaruah added that their protest is genuine and more security should be ensured to the doctors, especially during the night. “Without affecting the emergency services, the PGT Union, JDA and students are protesting today. We also need more security, at this stage the way things are anything can happen at any moment. We need to keep in mind that one doctor’s death anywhere in the world will mean 1000 patients suffering. A doctor can save a 1000 patients from death and they must be taken care of,” he added.

The protesters also condemned the West Bengal chief minister’s reaction on the entire incident. They demanded immediate action against the assaulters who attacked the Paribaha Mukhopadhyay, Yash Tekwani and others.

For the readers, at NRS Hospital, Kolkata, a 75-year-old died on late Monday night following which the attendants of the patient started blaming the doctors and beating them. The hospital administration irked by the reaction refused to hand over the dead body to the family members. Two truckload of people reached the hospital and started beating doctors who were serving patients in the hospital. During the assault, around 20 doctors got injured. A junior doctor Paribaha Mukhopadhyay was beaten by bricks that led to his skull being fractured while Yash Tekwani had multiple fractures on his ribs and spine.