Jharkhand: Doctors To Go On Indefinite Strike From Friday

Doctors in Jharkhand are all set to boycott work indefinitely from Friday in protest against the alleged assault of a colleague in Jamshedpur.

Jharkhand IMA secretary Pradip Kumar Singh Thursday claimed that over 14,000 doctors in government and private hospitals will participate in the agitation. Emergency services in the hospitals have, however, been exempted from the agitation, he said.

"The agitation will continue till all the accused in the assault of a doctor of Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College Hospital (MGMMCH) in Jamshedpur are arrested," Singh was quoted as saying.

MGMMCH senior pediatrician Kamlesh Oraon was allegedly brutally attacked by attendants after the death of a child, who was in critical condition on Monday night. Oraon reportedly received serious head injuries.

"Three days have passed but no arrest has been made to date though video footage of the incident is available. Therefore, we took the decision to boycott work," he claimed.

The boycott will begin at 6 a.m. on Friday and will continue till all accused in the assault are arrested, Singh said.

"We have been demanding implementation of the Medical Protection Act to avoid such incidents. We were just given assurances, but no concrete step has been taken so far. The government has adopted a lackadaisical approach towards our long pending demands, which is not acceptable," Singh further added.

The strike notice has been sent to the secretary of the health department, director of Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences in Ranchi, deputy commissioners and civil surgeons of all 24 districts of Jharkhand.