New Delhi: Delhi police have registered a case of rioting and causing obstruction in the city against the resident doctors protesting in the national capital against the delay in conducting NEET-PG counselling.
Claiming that seven of its personnel were injured during the protest of resident doctors near ITO on Monday, the police have registered an FIR under sections of rioting, causing obstruction in duty and damaging public property against the medicos. The FIR was lodged at IP Estate police station on a complaint filed by police personnel.
Meanwhile, resident doctors of the major government hospitals in Delhi said on Tuesday that they will continue their agitation until their demands are met.
"We've decided to continue our protest from Safdarjung Hospital until our demands are met... As night curfew has been imposed in the city, we returned to Safdarjung and will continue our protest from there," said Dr Kul Saurabh Kaushik, general secretary of Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA).
Earlier on Monday, the protesting resident doctors had called for a total shutdown of medical services in Delhi hospitals after a brutal police crackdown against them in which scores of medicos were injured.
The resident doctors were marching towards the Supreme Court when they were stopped by the police near ITO on Monday afternoon. They claimed that over a thousand of them were detained by the police.
Speaking to ETV Bharat, doctors, many of whom were wounded, said that police used force against them, dragged the female residents, and snatched their phones when they tried to record the "brutality".
"During Covid-19, they called us warriors. See how they are treating us now," said an injured doctor.
Calling it a "black day" in the history of the medical fraternity, the FORDA, in a statement, said: "There will be a complete shutdown of all healthcare institutions today onwards. We strongly condemn this brutality and demand immediate release of our FORDA representatives and resident doctors."
"A Black Day in the history of Medical fraternity of the nation. Resident Doctors, the so-called 'Corona Warriors', protesting peacefully to Expedite NEET PG Counselling 2021 in Delhi were brutally thrashed, dragged and detained by the cops. The medical fraternity of the nation must condemn this act in the strongest words and come forward in support. We urge all State RDAs of the nation to join the agitation! We all stand united in this fight against injustice," the statement said.
RML Hospital RDA Vice President, Dr Ajay Kumar, said that over a thousand doctors were detained by Delhi Police, and they want an apology "for such barbaric action".
Following the protests, patient care was impacted at least in Safdarjung, RML and Lady Hardinge hospitals. Protesting doctors gathered at the Safdarjung Hospital in the late evening to march towards the residence of Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya to protest. However, they were stopped on the way and taken to Sarojini Nagar Police Station.
RML Hospital RDA General Secretary Dr Survesh Pandey said that they were detained at the Sarojini Nagar Police Station while on the way to the Health Minister's residence but released in the late night.
