The Hyderabad police have booked cases against two persons related to a deceased COVID-19 patient, who attacked the doctors on duty at Gandhi Hospital after the patient’s death on Tuesday night. The two persons have been arrested and sent to jail, a statement from the North Zone DCP (Deputy Commissioner of Police) said.

Doctors at Gandhi Hospital, the nodal centre for COVID-19 treatment in Telangana, have been protesting since Tuesday night, demanding that the government address the issue of violence against doctors, among several others. 

A 55-year-old COVID-19 patient who was also diagnosed with Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) passed away on Tuesday night. Doctors who were on duty at the time said that the patient had removed his CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) machine – which was being used to help him breathe – against the doctors’ advice and collapsed while trying to go to the toilet without assistance from hospital staff.

According to the doctors, soon after the patient’s death, two of his relatives, who were present at the hospital as his attendants, entered the Acute Medical Care (AMC) ward and attacked two on-duty doctors by throwing chairs at them.

Police have booked two persons under sections 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 269 and 270, (negligent/malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life), and 271 (disobedience to quarantine rule) of the Indian Penal Code, section 3 in The Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 and section 4 of the Telangana Medicare Service Persons and Medicare Service Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage to Property) Act, 2008.

Pointing to the repeated incidents attacks against doctors, particularly during the pandemic, the protesting doctors are now demanding additional security in the form of paramilitary forces, as well as decentralisation of COVID-19 cases, recruitment of more staff, and adequate PPE kits and N95 masks.