AIIMS Patna violence: Doctors say MLA ‘threatened them with gun’; he alleges being ‘held hostage’

A late-night scuffle at AIIMS Patna has triggered a major controversy after resident doctors accused Sheohar MLA Chetan Anand, his wife, and their armed guards of storming the trauma centre and threatening hospital staff at gunpoint. In a counter-allegation, the MLA claimed he and his wife were manhandled by the staff during a visit to meet a supporter.

The doctors alleged that a hospital guard was brutally injured after being struck with the rear end of the weapon. “Our resident doctors were subjected to threats, abuse, and fear inside their own workplace,” the resident doctors said, who also held a protest march demanding an apology from the MLA.

Further, the AIIMS Patna Resident Doctors’ Association (RDA) in a letter to the medical superintendent warned of a shutdown of the elective services from 9 am on August 1. The protest is ongoing.

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What happened at AIIMS Patna on the night of July 30?

The shocking incident unfolded on July 30 at around 11 pm, when the MLA, his wife Ayushi Singh, and his armed guards forcibly entered the Trauma Center premises. The RDA claimed that the security staff were physically assaulted, resident doctors received death threats, and firearms were brandished within hospital grounds.

“We are committed to patient care, but we cannot and will not function under threats to our lives and dignity,” the doctors said.

They also stated that if appropriate actions are not taken, “the entire responsibility of service disruption and its consequences shall lie with the administration and authorities who failed to ensure safety and justice”.

The medicos also demanded deployment of adequate and permanent security personnel, a formal written assurance and public condemnation of the incident, and implementation of concrete and lasting security protocol to ensure the safety of healthcare professionals.

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Counter-allegations from MLA

The Bihar MLA Chetan Anand — son of Lovely Anand, JD(U) MP from Sheohar Lok Sabha seat — said both he and his wife were mistreated by the hospital staff when they went to visit a supporter admitted at the facility.

Speaking to PTI, the RJD-turned-JD(U) legislator said: "My wife and I had gone to see one of my supporters admitted at AIIMS on Wednesday night. I was not allowed to enter the hospital with my security guard. This prompted my wife to intervene."

"At that moment, other staff members came and started misbehaving with my wife. They literally thrashed her. I had to intervene. My wife sustained injuries to her wrist and back. I was also held hostage by the staff for some time," he alleged. Finally, we went to the local police station and lodged a complaint, he said.

Patna City SP (West) Bhanu Pratap Singh told reporters, "Complaints have been received from both sides, including AIIMS administration, pertaining to the incident. A case has been registered and further investigation is on.”