Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, May 25: Amid the spread of COVID-19 when the doctors are hailed as ‘warriors,” a senior doctor today alleged that he was thrashed and detained by the police while he was on his way to hospital to attend his duty.
Dr Syed Maqbool, a senior interventional cardiologist at Government Medical College (GMC), Srinagar alleged that he was beaten-up by a policeman in Hawal Chowk and later detained at Police Station Zadibal. He was not allowed to proceed towards hospital.
“On the morning of May 23, while I was to cross the Hawal Chowk towards my hospital, I was stopped by a constable who asked me to turn back and take some alternate route to reach the hospital,” he said.
He added that he showed the policeman his ID and the duty roster, even pointed towards the plus sign on the front of his car. He alleged that even after this he was abused and beaten. “While this was happening, the Station House Officer (SHO) came running and dragged me to the Police Station,” he said.
He alleged that at the Police Station he was even more abused till his brother came to know about his detention at around 6 in the evening. “Even after repeated requests to make a call to my Head of the Department and the Principal, the officer did not let me, till 6 in the evening when my brother got me out on bail,” he said.
It is pertinent to mention her that on day when he was detained; the doctor was a Cardiologist on call at SMHS Hospital Srinagar. He was allowed to make a call to his colleagues at around 4 in the evening on one condition that he will not tell them he has been detained.
The incident has triggered criticism from the doctors community.
Principal, GMC, Srinagar Dr Samia Rashid said the doctors have been risking their lives only to be harassed.
“The behavior of the police has been deplorable to say the least – we as frontline workers have been working day in and day out risking our lives and families only to be harrassed. We as the administration have raised the issue with concerned authorities and hope for swift action,” she tweeted.
Meanwhile, Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) has condemned the alleged “heckling and harassment” of healthcare workers by police amid COVID-19 lockdown, terming it unacceptable.
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