Doctors call off strike in Jharkhand after four held for thrashing medico

The Jharkhand chapter of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) and the Jharkhand State Health Services Association (JSHSA) called off their statewide doctors’ strike at around 10 am on Friday after the Jamshedpur Police arrested the four main accused in thrashing of a junior doctor at Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College Hospital (MGMMCH) on Monday midnight.

IMA-Jharkhand secretary, Dr Pradeep Kumar Singh, and IMA-Jamshedpur secretary, Dr Saurabh Chaudhary, announced the end of their indefinite strike after Jamshedpur rural superintendent of police (SP) Rishabh Garg, who is also in charge of Jamshedpur city SP, confirmed the arrest of the main accused in a meeting with an IMA delegation.

“We arrested three main accused last night and the fourth accused this morning. Separate teams formed by the Jamshedpur SSP Kishor Kaushal were working in three different districts to arrest the accused visible in the viral video. We have informed the IMA and JSHSA about the development,” Rishabh Garg, Jamshedpur rural SP, told HT on Friday, adding that police detained another six suspects in connection with the case.

Police said Ravi Sardar, Santosh Karmakar, Aakash Tanti, and Bharat Pradhan have been arrested and charged under sections 353 (obstructing government work), 307 (attempt to murder), and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The accused were sent to judicial custody after production in a local court.

Dr Kamalesh Oraon was allegedly thrashed inside the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) at MGMMCH around 1 a.m. on Monday, alleging negligence leading to the death of a minor girl during treatment. The incident was recorded, and the video went viral, triggering statewide anger among the medical fraternity.

Junior doctors and nursing staff were on sit-in dharna and strike for the past four days at MGMMCH demanding justice, security, and safety for the doctors and nurses in the hospitals across the state.

Earlier, over 12,000 doctors proceeded on a statewide strike, shutting down OPDs in government and private hospitals across the state. The effect on the healthcare system was felt equally at RIMS in Ranchi, MGMMCH in Jamshedpur, Ghatsila PHC, and Manoharpur PHC, with only the emergency ward functioning since 6 am on Friday.

The health services, however, limped back to normalcy by noon on Friday.

Dr Chaudhary said they hoped their demand for a permanent police picket at MGMMCH would be fulfilled at the earliest. “This shows why the Medical Protection Act (MPA) is a must in Jharkhand, too,” added Dr Chaudhary.

“IMA Jamshedpur branch has confirmed that the culprits have been arrested, and they have called off their agitation. Thanks to state IMA branches for their support in fulfilling all demands. I got a call from SDM Jamshedpur and talked to City SP also. Both have confirmed the arrest of the main culprits and other culprits, i.e., 6 culprits till this morning,” Dr Arun Kumar Singh, IMA-Jharkhand president, told HT on Friday.

“Since the main demand and other demands of IMA Jamshedpur have been fulfilled, we decided to call off the agitation. Thanks to all esteemed members of IMA Jharkhand, JSHSA, JDA, AHPI, and Tribal Doctors Association for great unity and tremendous support to make this agitation a great success. With such great unity, we will achieve our demands of MPA and Clinical Establishment Act (CEA) too soon,” Dr Singh added.