Doctors, Kannada outfit protest against each-other over attack on woman doctor in Bengaluru hospital

A group of doctors and members of a regional Kannada group staged protests against each other on Tuesday, five days after a woman doctor was allegedly assaulted inside a hospital here.

While doctors at Minto Hospital have been on a protest for the past four days demanding action against Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, the regional outfit staged a protest against doctors and blamed them for negligence in treating patients.

Doctors said that activists from the Kannada group entered the OPD of the hospital and assaulted a doctor, an allegation refuted by the regional group.

Members of the Vedike group also allegedly asked the woman doctor to speak in Kannada before attacking her on November 1.

 

Vedike chief Narayana Gowda said the doctors were to be blamed for the eyesight loss of more than 27 patients and added that the doctors were protesting to escape the cases which have been filed against them.

"Neither any Karnataka Rakshana Vedike worker entered the hospital nor did they attack anybody. They are the reason behind the loss of eyesight of the poor people," he said.

The protesting doctors, on the other hand opposed the alleged attack by the Vedike members.

"We agree that some people lost their sights but how come we are being blamed for it. A case has been registered against the doctors who treated the patients. Some Vedike people tried to attack a woman doctor on November 1," a doctor said.

He further said, "We oppose such attitude and demand concrete action against the Vedike members. Entering the OPD and attacking a doctor on duty is unbearable. We will continue to protest."

The doctors also said that action should be taken against the pharmaceutical company which supplied the drug that was administered to the affected patients and demanded that action be taken against the company. "People lost their sight due to the use of drugs supplied by the pharmaceutical company. Its drug contained some dangerous chemical. Action must be taken against the pharmaceutical company and the government should be blamed for it," he said.

State Health Minister Sri Ramulu earlier urged the doctors to resume duty.

A patient, a tailor by profession and one of the participants in Vedike's protest said he suffered damage to his entire eye. "We were treated at Minto Hospital. We not only lost eyesights but also damage to the eye. That's why we are demanding justice," he said.

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