JOIN USOrders transfer of senior police officers as govt invokes ESMA
The Allahabad high court, taking cognisance of the ongoing doctors’ strike, on Wednesday ordered transfer of top police officers of Kanpur and also directed the striking doctors to return to work even as the UP government hardened its stance and invoked the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) on them.
The court also ordered a judicial probe in the alleged brutal assault on the doctors by the police in Kanpur town on February 28.
The doctors had been demanding suspension of Kanpur district police chief Yashashvi Yadav and action against the Samajwadi Party (SP) legislator Irfan Solanki, whose gunners and supporters had also thrashed the doctors.
The court said it was ordering transfer of the officials in an attempt to break the deadlock and resolve the matter.
The court’s intervention comes after death of as many as 50 people for want of treatment in different parts of state following the strike. The administration in Kanpur had invoked ESMA on them in a bid to force them to return to work.
The doctors have, however, decided to intensify their strike remained adamant on their demand for suspension of Kanpur district police chief Yashashvi Yadav and arrest of the SP legislator Irfan Solanki.
Health services remained affected at Varanasi, Lucknow, Kanpur, Agra, Allahabad and Gorakhpur medical colleges as the doctors struck work and held demonstrations to press their demands.
The talks between the administration and the striking doctors in Kanpur broke down on Sunday night following which the police sent 24 doctors, who had been arrested for allegedly damaging vehicles and assaulting the MLA and his supporters, to jail.
The trouble had sparked off after the SP MLA reportedly intervened in a fight between a doctor and an old man in front of the hospital on Friday evening. A group of junior doctor allegedly thrashed the MLA, his gunners and also damaged his vehicle. The MLA suffered serious injuries on his head and other parts of his body, sources said.
Later the MLA’s supporters also arrived there and a pitched battle ensued between the two sides during which shots were also fired.
The police, which arrived at the scene a little later, allegedly chased the doctors inside the medical college campus and assaulted them after entering their hostels.
Lawyers support docs
Lawyers in Kanpur on Wednesday extended their support to the doctors’ stir by going on a day-long strike.
“By boycotting work we are not only supporting the affected doctors but also those patients who are left to wander around in need for medical services,” Kanpur Bar Association, President Suresh Chauhan said, reports PTI Mrom Kanpur.
Meanwhile the 24 doctors who have been released on bail, refused to come out of the jail, officials said.
MLA Solanki, on the other hand told reporters on Wednesday that “he was willing to say sorry to doctors without any fault of his”.