NEW DELHI: Young doctors hailed as frontline Covid-19 warriors in the two pandemic waves are protesting against the delay in the NEET PG counselling process.
Continuing their month-long stir on Monday, they were dragged, manhandled and detained by Delhi Police while marching towards the Supreme Court to register their protest.
Dr Anuj Aggrawal, general secretary, Resident Doctors Association (RDA) Safdarjung Hospital, said he along with around 200 doctors were detained and taken to the Rajendra Nagar Police Station. Over 2,500 doctors were detained. They were released at night and said the protest will be resumed on Tuesday.
“I am shocked at the way the police behaved with the doctors. I have been a doctor for 11 years, but never saw such brutal action. Many doctors have complained of anxiety attacks after the ruckus during the protest,” said Dr Anuj. Many doctors also reportedly lost their phones during the protest.
Dr Anuj alleged several women doctors were dragged by male cops. When they tried to record what they were undergoing, the cops snatched phones.
He alleged several women doctors were misbehaved with. “It was a very shameful incident,” he said.
With resident doctors on strike, the OPD and emergency services remained affected in government hospitals across the city. Department heads and senior faculty members worked and treated the patients.
The Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA) has called for a complete shutdown of health services.
“In such circumstances even senior doctors will not work. OPDs and Emergency wards of government hospitals would be locked,” said Dr Anuj.
Dr Sarvesh Pandey, general secretary, RDA, Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, said junior resident doctors, consultants and contractual doctors who were still working would abstain from duty from Tuesday. “We have sought suspension of DCP Rohit Meena for the way he treated protestors,” he said. The march took place after several failed meetings with the Delhi Health Minister.
The stir, led by the Federation of Resident Doctors' Association, has been going on for several days, and FORDA also said that several of its members were "detained" when they tried to hold a protest march from Maulana Azad Medical College (MAMC) to Supreme Court.
FORDA president Manish claimed that resident doctors of a large number of major hospitals on Monday "returned their apron (lab coat) in a symbolic gesture of rejection of services".
"We also tried to march from the campus of the Maulana Azad Medical College (MAMC) to Supreme Court, but soon after we had started it, security personnel did not allow us to proceed," he said.
Manish also alleged that several doctors were "detained" by police force, and taken to police station premises, before being released after some time.
He also alleged that "police force was used and many doctors were injured" during their dramatic face-off.
However, police denied allegations of lathicharge or use of abusive language from their end, and said, 12 protestors were detained and released later.
In a statement issued later, FORDA said it was a "black day in the history of the medical fraternity".
"Resident doctors, the so-called 'Corona Warriors', protesting peacefully to expedite NEET PG Counselling 2021 were brutally thrashed, dragged and detained by the police," it alleged "There will be complete shutdown of all ,healthcare institutions from today onwards," the statement said.
In an official statement issued later, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Rohit Meena said, on Monday, a group of resident doctors "without having any authorised permission" blocked the BSZ Marg, main road between ITO and Delhi gate, and jammed the traffic for more than six hours".
"They deliberately created nuisance on the main road and blocked both carriageways, causing hardship and harassment to commuters and general public," he claimed in the statement.
Subsequently, they were "addressed by DG Health" who gave them the assurance of fulfilling their demands, the senior police officer was quoted as saying in the statement.
However, they became "aggressive and even after pacifying them, they blocked the road", he claimed.
"After requesting them again to leave the road, they became aggressive and manhandled our personnel when efforts were made to detain them lawfully. Seven police personnel got injured while detaining them. They also broke the glass of police bus," he alleged.
FIR has been registered under relevant sections of Indian Penal Code for Covid violations and damage to public property among others, police said.
Later in the night, a large number of resident doctors gathered outside the Sarojini Nagar police station.
But, no one has been detained as of now, police said.
However, doctors claimed that a large number of protestors were detained by police when they tried to march from Safdarjung Hospital to the official residence of Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya.
"They are protesting and we are facilitating their protest. They are on a sit-in here. Let them first settle down and then we will initiate talks with them. It's likely that any immediate meeting could be arranged with officials concerned at night but we are trying are best to sort it out," a senior police officer from southwest district of the Delhi Police said.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southwest) Gaurav Sharma said that "Doctors were protesting and they were reconciled through negotiations. They were peacefully handled and sent back to their hostels."
In a video released by FORDA, a group of protestors can be seen singing the national anthem outside a police station, while one doctor can be seen telling a group that they should prepare to camp there all night to protest.
Later, a resident doctor said, after all detained doctors been released, "injured will go to hospitals, and rest all will be heading back, to regroup again tomorrow".
Senior Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also shared video clip of the face-off between the doctors and police personnel, and extended support to protesting resident doctors.
As the protest continued on Monday, patient care remained affected at three Centre-run facilities -- Safdarjung, RML and Lady Hardinge hospitals -- and some of the Delhi government-run hospitals.
Last Tuesday, a group of doctors had thrown flowers on security barricades, and clanged utensils and clapped in front of the Nirman Bhawan here, saying they were symbolically "returning" the adulation showered on them for being Covid warriors.
(With PTI Inputs)