Karnataka: Woman assaults doctor by throwing shoe at him; hospital staff shuts down OPD in protest

A woman at a Karnataka hospital was arrested for assaulting a doctor and hurling her footwear at him while he was treating her relative.

The doctors and staff of the Araluguppe Mallegowda District Hospital in Chikamagaluru staged a protest and shut down the out patient department after a woman assaulted a doctor by grabbing his collar and throwing a shoe at him while he was on duty.

A woman assaulted a doctor by grabbing his collar and throwing a shoe at him (File)

Physician Venkatesh B S was on duty in the emergency ward when a person named Irfan, injured in a scuffle, was brought in for treatment. However, a disagreement broke out between the government hospital staff and the patient's relatives.

“When the doctor was examining Irfan, a group of people, who were the patient's relatives, gathered there and were making noise. When the doctor asked everyone else other than the patient to go out, an argument broke out,” sources told PTI.

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When Venkatesh tried to control the situation, one of the patient's relatives, a woman named Taslim, got enraged and grabbed him by the collar and pulled him. She also took off her shoe and threw it at the doctor, sources said.

Other doctors and staff of the hospital staged a protest by shutting down the outpatient department. They gathered in front of the district surgeon’s office and demanded immediate arrest of those who assaulted the doctor.

After protests by the government hospital staff, the district surgeon's office sent a letter to the local police alleging abuse, assault, and threat to the life of the doctor by persons involved in the incident. He also demanded registering a case against the accused and extra security for the doctors on duty.

Sharing the video of the alleged incident on 'X', BJP MLC CT Ravi said: “Hon'ble Home Minister G Parameshwara should immediately arrest those who have committed such a despicable act, and take action to protect the medical staff.”

Chikkamagaluru SP, Vikram Amathe, told PTI that an FIR has been registered and the woman arrested. "We have convinced the Doctors who were protesting about (demanding) registering a case and making the arrest, and they have subsequently withdrawn the protest," he said.

This comes as doctors across the country are demanding a central law to protect doctors in the workplace amid the outrage against the Kolkata rape and murder case.

(With inputs from PTI)