MANGALDAI, March 10 - Unidentified miscreants on Saturday night physically attacked a doctor and staff at Mangaldai Civil Hospital besides damaging public property and vandalising hospital equipment and papers.
According to the hospital staff on duty, at around 10 pm, a group of nearly 15 youths had accompanied a patient namely Subrata Devnath (26), injured on his legs in a bike accident to the hospital. When the hospital authority was preparing to shift the patient to the GMCH after providing preliminary treatment, the youths accompanying the patient engaged in a verbal altercation with the on duty staff and home guard jawans alleging delay in the process. A section of them allegedly in an intoxicated state then abused the doctor and staff and started throwing the table, chair and other medical equipment of the doctor on duty, broke the glass of the entrance and manhandled the doctor on duty. When the staff and the home guard jawan on duty came for the rescue of the medical officer, they were also assaulted. One fourth grade staff Mukut Swarnakar sustained injuries. After nearly half an hour when the police arrived all of them managed to flee except one who had got injured in a hot chase by the police. The youth, identifying himself as Kusum Deka (35), of village No. 1, Bezpara under Mangaldai Police Station expressed his ignorance and the motive of the youths whom he had accompanied, stating that they had come to attend a marriage as the accomplice of the bridegroom from Guwahati.
Meanwhile, talking to the media the staff of the hospital and the surrounding people present have alleged that had the police from Mangaldai Sadar Police Station hardly at a distance of few hundred metres arrived on time, all the miscreants could have been nabbed red handed. Medical Officer Dr Jayanta Deka also expressed serious concern over such type of threats which are on the rise in recent times.
