Jail those attacking doctors & medical staff: HC to Telangana government

TNN | Updated: Apr 16, 2020, 06:51 IST

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HYDERABAD: Making it clear that anyone who attacks a serving doctor or medical staff at this critical juncture will straightaway land in jail, Chief Justice Raghavendra Singh Chauhan of Telangana high court on Wednesday directed the state government and police to take instant action on such assaulters.
The court also asked the government to give wide publicity on meting out harsh punishments to deter mischievous elements who, it said, were seemingly under the wrong impression that they could get away after attacking medical and health personnel.

Sitting along with Justice T Amarnath Goud, the CJ was hearing cases on providing security to doctors caught up in treating Covid-19 patients and coronavirus suspected cases and also to medical personnel involved in surveying and testing the suspected cases.
The CJ referred to a report which appeared in TOI on Wednesday about the attack on a doctor at OGH by the relatives of a patient whose test reports were awaited.
“When the state government and its machinery are involved in tackling an emergency, those creating law and order problems need not be tolerated at all,” the CJ said while directing the police authorities to step up security in all hospitals dealing with Covid-19 cases
Not pleased with the reply from the state counsel that police had registered an FIR, the bench said that arrests should have been made by now. “It is high time the message should be sent out loud and clear that no one can interfere in the fight against Covid-19,” it said.