Medical services across Assam were affected on Tuesday as doctors resorted to a 24-hour “withdrawal of non-emergency medical services” to protest against the lynching of a 73-year-old colleague by a mob of tea plantation workers in Jorhat on Saturday.
The protest against the killing of Deben Dutta in eastern Assam’s Teok Tea Estate was led by the Assam unit of Indian Medical Association (IMA).
Rallies and sit-ins
Doctors and medical students took out rallies and held sit-ins while demanding security for medical practitioners at their workplaces.
Health officials said a few doctors attended to only emergency cases in six government-run medical college and hospitals, civil hospitals, family referral units and primary health centres.
The IMA had on Monday demanded exemplary punishment for the plantation workers who killed Dr. Dutta and tighter security at all health establishments, specifically those in the tea estates. Dr. Dutta was thrashed by some workers after a youth, Somra Majhi, died in the estate hospital. The police rescued the seriously injured doctor and rushed him to a local hospital, from where he was referred to the Jorhat Medical College and Hospital. He later succumbed to his injuries.
The police said so far 30 people have been arrested in the case and the situation in the tea estate was under control. Inspector General of Police Deepak Kedia said 20 of the arrested were in judicial custody. “Eight more are being interrogated,” he added.
Seeks written commitment
Meanwhile, the IMA has set September 5 as the deadline for the Assam Branch Indian Tea Association to give a written assurance on its demand for security for doctors working in tea gardens failing which it has threatened to withdraw all doctors from estates located across Assam from September 6.
Assam has more than 800 large tea estates and most of them have on-site healthcare facilities.