Coronavirus War: Attacks On Doctors, Cops, Heighten Challenge

Attacks on doctors, paramedics and other healthcare professionals in various parts of rural India land a new dimension to the war against Coronavirus which the government is currently waging. In Madhubani in Bihar, a party of policemen and health officials which was conducting a check on the mosque was reportedly fired upon. Stones were also pelted people on the police team which went to shift some of the people who were taking shelter in the mosque after attending the religious congregation at Nizamuddin in Delhi.

In Munger of Bihar, a party of doctors and policemen which had gone to bring Coronavirus positive patients was attacked by locals. The government vehicle used by the team was also damaged. The locals had reportedly stated to have expressed their displeasure at the state of the quarantine facilities to which the police and doctors wanted to shift the people who tested positive for suspected of having coronavirus.

In a similar event in Indore of Madhya Pradesh, a crowd attacked doctors and paramedics who went to check on family members of a patient who died of coronavirus and who are suspected of being carriers of the virus. The crowd chased the doctors and paramedics pelting them with stones. Local police came to the rescue and registered a case in the matter on the directions of Madhya Pradesh chief minister, Shivraj Singh Chauhan. Four of them have been identified and arrested, according to the latest reports.

In Muzaffarnagar of Uttar Pradesh, a crowd attacked policemen with stones injuring a sub-inspector and a constable. Five people including a former village head were reportedly arrested in the matter.

In Gomtipur of Ahmedabad, a mob chased police officials who went to enquire about attendees to the Ijtemah or congregation organised by the Tablighi Jamaat in the Nizamuddin area of Delhi. Police have registered a case.

The Doctors Association of All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah seeking enhanced security for doctors in the wake of attacks against them. The doctors have pointed out that they are already in the frontline of the war on Coronavirus and are facing the threat of infection, among other challenges