Determined to apprehend an accused man for allegedly sexually assaulting his colleague, the Uttarakhand Police, in a surpising move, drove an SUV into the crowded All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Rishikesh, the video of which has gone viral on social media platforms.
The police team drove into the hospital to nab a nursing officer, accused of molesting a junior doctor when they were on duty in the trauma surgery unit on Sunday evening.
The accused, Satish Kumar, allegedly touched the doctor inappropriately and also sent obscene text messages to her, Rishikesh Kotwali SHO Shankar Singh Bisht told news agency PTI.
In the viral video clip that looks like a scene out of an action movie, the police car can be seen driving through a crowded emergency ward, with patients lying in their beds on both sides. As the car makes its way ahead, a group of security officials are seen clearing the way for the SUV, pushing aside the stretchers with patients out of the way.
The car then zooms ahead and several police officers can be seen sitting inside it.
Since the protesting doctors thronged the hospital premises, the police decided to drive into the hospital to arrest Satish Kumar.
The incident triggered anger among the resident doctors who raised slogans outside the Dean's office on Monday, demanding action against Kumar. Subsequently, a case was registered at Rishikesh Kotwali after doctors protested, and the accused was finally arrested on Tuesday evening.
"The doctors demanded Kumar's immediate termination of service, adding that mere suspension would not suffice for the offence he had committed," Medical Superintendent Sanjiv Kumar Mittal told PTI.
The agitated doctors also demanded the suspension of the assistant nursing superintendent (ANS) Sinoj who had put the accused on duty, Mittal stated.
In another video that has surfaced online, a team of police officers can be seen surrounded by the protesting doctors, as they take the accused man into the SUV.
The doctors, while raising slogans, demanded Satish Kumar's immediate sacking, saying that mere suspension was not enough for the offence he had committed. While emergency services are still operational at AIIMS Rishikesh, doctors have been on strike since Tuesday.
Mittal stated that the emergency services and almost 90 percent of the operation theatres are operational. However, the senior and junior doctors continue to be on strike since Tuesday.
"A letter was written to the higher authorities for the nursing officer's dismissal and a notice was served to Sinoj asking him to explain within 72 hours," he told PTI.
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