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New Delhi: Doctors across Himachal Pradesh have declared a mass casual leave on Friday. They have also sounded a warning that they will go on an indefinite strike from Saturday if the state government doesn't reinstate a senior resident doctor who was sacked.
At the heart of the controversy is 31-year-old Dr Raghav Narula. His services at Shimla’s Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) were terminated after he was involved in an altercation with a patient. IGMC is one of Himachal Pradesh’s largest hospitals and a major referral center.
Dr Narula was terminated by the state government. An internal probe found him guilty of misconduct and misbehaviour. The action was taken after a video from December 22 went viral. The footage showed Dr Narula involved in a physical scuffle with a patient identified as Arjun Pawar (36) from Chopal.
An FIR has been lodged by the Shimla Police. The FIR was registered under Sections 125(a), 115(2), and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. The IGMC probe panel had said that both the doctor and the patient were responsible for the altercation.
After Dr Narula was terminated, the Himachal Medical Officers’ Association (HMOA) declared a one-day mass casual leave on Friday. The Resident Doctors’ Association (RDA) of IGMC has also said that they would be launching a strike from Saturday in case the termination order was not withdrawn.
RDA president Dr Sohil Sharma said the association is planning to have a meeting with the Chief Minister on Friday to discuss the matter. He said the resident doctors would be going on a one-day casual leave on December 26, adding that if their demands were not met, they will be forced to go on strike from December 27 at 9.30 am.
Dr Sharma pointed out that emergency services will not be hit, but routine services, outpatient departments (OPDs), and elective operation theatres will remain closed during the protest.
The association also underlined serious security lapses at IGMC, and demanded a thorough review of gaps in CCTV coverage. It also raised questions over the failure to implement security measures that had been recommended earlier at the hospital.
The RDA statement emphasised: "A comprehensive review and accountability assessment is demanded regarding the previously reported deficiencies in CCTV coverage and the failure to implement security measures at IGMC Shimla, despite prior analysis of the shortcomings."
