Karnal, March 7: Government healthcare services faced significant disruption on Saturday as the Haryana Civil Medical Services Association (HCMSA) expanded its protest to a state-wide suspension of outpatient department (OPD) services. The escalation follows an incident in Karnal where a medical officer was allegedly assaulted and detained by a local station house officer earlier this week.
The conflict originated on Wednesday night at the Gharounda Community Health Centre. Dr. Prashant Chauhan, the medical officer on duty, reportedly requested police intervention to manage a group of threatening patients. However, HCMSA representatives asserted that when SHO Deepak Kumar arrived, he physically assaulted the doctor and took him into custody rather than addressing the security concern.
While Karnal Superintendent of Police Narendra Bijarniya suspended the SHO on Thursday, medical professionals maintained that the measure was inadequate. The association is calling for the registration of an FIR and the immediate arrest of the officer and four staff members involved. Dr. Deepak Goyal, a spokesperson for the District Civil Hospital, stated that while OPD services remain suspended across the state, emergency services in Karnal were resumed on Saturday to mitigate the impact on critical care.
Legal experts noted that under the Haryana Protection of Medical Service Persons and Medical Service Institutions Act, violence directed at medical staff is a non-bailable offense. The HCMSA declared that the strike will persist until formal criminal proceedings are initiated against the police personnel, emphasizing that administrative suspension does not satisfy the requirements of the law.
