COIMBATORE: A week after members of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) held a nationwide strike demanding law against violence on medical professionals, seven people were booked for allegedly assaulting a doctor and staff at a private hospital in Coimbatore during an altercation over the treatment expenses of a Covid patient.
The suspects, who are the relatives of the patient who died a few days ago, were booked under sections of the Tamil Nadu Medicare Service Persons and Medicare Service Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage or Loss to Property) Act.
According to police, Aruchamy (62) from Pollachi, tested positive for Covid and was admitted to the hospital at Sundarapuram on May 24. Despite treatment, he succumbed to the infection on May 29.
On Thursday evening, the family members and relatives of the deceased patient visited the hospital and asked for a receipt for the treatment expenses. This later turned into a heated verbal argument between them and the hospital management. This resulted in the assault on a doctor, whose mobile phone was taken away by the patient’s relatives, according to police.
Upon noticing the brawl, K Balasubramanian (45), Public Relations Officer at the hospital, and a few staff tried to stop them. The quarrel, however, turned into a clash. The complainant said that the gang assaulted them with stones and wooden logs, injuring them. The police added that the doctor’s mobile phone was thrown away and that he was threatened. The police are perusing the CCTV footage from the locality, and further investigation is on, according to sources.
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