Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SHP)

Bengaluru, Nov 6: Five days after a woman doctor was assaulted inside a hospital, a protest ensued on Tuesday between a Kannada outfit group and a group of doctors here.

While the doctors at Minto Hospital have been protesting for four days for the attack, Karnataka Rakshana Vedike is now staging protest against the negligence of the doctors. The doctors claimed that the Kannada outfit entered the OPD and assaulted a doctor, which the Kannada outfit denied. The group allegedly demanded the woman doctor to speak in Kannada before assaulting her on November 1.

Meanwhile, Karnataka Rakshana Vedike chief Narayana Gowda claimed that the doctors were playing the blame game to escape the cases of negligence filed against them. Reportedly the doctors are accused of the causing 27 patients to lose their eyesight.

"Not one Vedike member entered the OPD. They never even assaulted anyone. The doctors are responsible for the loss of sight of the poor," Gowda said.

Responding to the allegations by the Vedike, one of the doctors said, "We agree that some people lost their vision, but how come we are blamed for it. A case has been registered against the doctors who treated the patients. But the Vedike members entering the OPD and assaulting the doctors is unacceptable."

"We demand stringent action against the attackers and condemn such an attitude. We will continue to protest," the doctor added.

The protesting doctors also demanded that the pharmaceutical company whose drug caused the blindness should be under fire. "The drug used to treat the patients must have contained a dangerous chemical. The government and the pharmaceutical company should be blamed for it," the doctor said.

Earlier, state health minister Sri Ramulu requested the doctors to resume their duties.

A victim of the treatment and one of the Vedike protest participant said, "I was treated at Minto Hospital, I sustained not only damage to my eye but also lost my vision, now I am protesting to attain justice."