Doctor, patient apologise to each other after hospital brawl in Himachal Pradesh

Shimla: A week after an altercation between a patient and a doctor at IGMC here made headlines and triggered a protest by resident doctors, the two on Tuesday apologised to each other and said they have put the matter behind them.

The two also hugged each other.

"Both sides made a mistake but now a settlement has been reached, all grievances have been resolved and everything is fine. We both hugged each other, said sorry and have put the matter behind us," Dr Raghav Narula told reporters here.

The patient, Arjun Singh, said the issue has been resolved now.

"The doctor has apologised and the grievances of both sides have been resolved. What happened at that time and how it happened there is nothing more to say about it as the matter is closed," he said.

The two buried the hatchet in the presence of Naresh Chauhan, Principal Media Advisor of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.

Chauhan said the government did not want anyone to face any trouble. Keeping in mind the public's concerns, the CM earlier met with the doctors and assured them of an investigation.

Following the agreement reached between both parties in this matter, the FIR against Narula will also be withdrawn, he said.

The families of both Narula and Singh expressed happiness over the development.

Regardless of whose fault it was, a compromise has been reached now. It is necessary to learn a lesson from this so that such an incident does not repeat in the future, they said.

The altercation between Narula and Singh took place on December 22.

Singh claimed the dispute arose after he objected to being addressed as "tu" instead of "tum" by Narula and this angered the doctor. However, Narula maintained that it was Singh who instigated the fight by using abusive language against him and his family.

A video of the incident showed Narula punching the patient and Singh trying to kick the doctor. An inquiry committee set up by the state government found both parties at fault.

The doctor was terminated from service after the committee found him guilty of "misconduct, misbehaviour and acts of unbecoming a public servant".

Resident doctors of Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) went on a strike, demanding revocation of Narula's termination order.

They called off the strike after two days on Sunday, following Chief Minister Sukhu's appeal and assurance that the incident would be re-investigated. On Monday evening, the CM directed the health officials to constitute a new committee to re-examine the incident.