Govt calls for strict action against assault on doctors

The Centre on Saturday asked state governments to register cases and invoke the stringent action under the Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Act, 2020 against those who assault doctors and health care professionals.

The letter by Union home secretary Ajay Bhalla came after several incidents of attack on doctors and health care professionals were reported from different parts of the country amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

“…any incident of threat or assault on doctors or healthcare professionals may dampen their morale and create a sense of insecurity amongst them. This may adversely affect the healthcare response system,” said the letter. Bhalla also asked the states to keep a close watch on any objectionable content on social media that may exacerbate such situations.

On June 1, a doctor posted at a Covid Care Centre in Assam was assaulted by the relatives of a patient who succumbed to the virus. On April 26, relatives of a deceased patient vandalised the emergency ward and injured several employees of Delhi’s Indraprastha Apollo hospital.

“Institutional FIRs should be registered against assaulters and such cases should be fast-tracked. You may also like to invoke provisions of the Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Act, 2020, where applicable,” said the letter, and highlighted the Centre’s earlier advisories sent in this regard