CHANDIGARH: A man was arrested for allegedly assaulting a female doctor, pinning her to the ground, tearing her shirt and vandalising property at the Sub-Divisional Hospital in Kharar, Punjab.
The accused was overpowered after nearly an hour of commotion, with hospital staff struggling to bring the situation under control before handing him over to the police. A doctors’ association flagged the lack of security at the hospital during the incident.
The accused has been identified as Ranjitpal Singh. He is a resident of Kharar. The Kharar City police station registered a case on Saturday under Sections 115(2), 76, 132 and 221 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with Sections 3 and 4 of the Public Property Prevention of Damage Act. The charges include assault and vandalism.
According to the complaint filed by the doctor, she was on duty around 8.00 pm when the accused came to the hospital for treatment. She alleged that while she was examining him, he started arguing with her, grabbed her by the hair and tore her shirt.
“When the other staff present there rushed to stop him, he began fighting with them as well. The man then turned to vandalise the hospital. After much effort by the staff, he was finally overpowered and handed over to the police,” she said.
The Punjab Civil Medical Services Association (PCMSA) expressed concern over the lack of security at the hospital. In a statement, it alleged that the man grabbed the doctor by her hair, pinned her to the ground for several minutes, damaged her belongings and tore her clothes.
The association said a proposal to deploy 287 security guards at sub-divisional hospitals was at an advanced stage with the Punjab Health Systems Corporation (PHSC) and urged the authorities to implement it without delay.
It also called for the second phase of the security framework, covering all sub-divisional hospitals across Punjab, to be implemented by November 12.