J&K doctors want police to stop meddling in treatment of injured

Doctors in Jammu and Kashmir have decided to seek a new law to prevent police or the armed forces from "interfering" in the treatment of youths being treated for pellet gun injuries.

According to trauma experts here, they have been facing "extreme interference" by the police and armed forces while treating patients of pellet-gun injuries.

"Doctors from the state will present a memorandum to the central and state governments to come up with or amend the existing law to stop the interference of police and armed forces while treating patients affected by pellet guns," said Showkat Ali Mufti, head of emergency medicine at Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences.

He was speaking at a panel discussion on medical trauma on the sidelines of the 2nd Annual Jammu and Kashmir Sciences Congress and the 1st Conference of MPCOS society here.

Mufti said the doctors will consult with the medical fraternity of the state and prepare the memorandum.

Most of the doctors said the state of affairs was such that pellet-gun victims approaching hospital for treatment were being chased by the state police or the army.

Another senior doctor from Jammu and Kashmir declining to be named told IANS that the new law was basically to prevent pellet-gun victims from being hounded by the police.

"Normally what happens is that pellet-gun victims do not want to come to hospital for treatment as they are afraid of arrest," said the doctor, and added that it was extremely important to bring in some law to prevent this.

"Many a time these pellet-gun victims do not even tell their original name to evade arrest," the doctor said.

During last year's unrest, hundreds of people sought treatment in hospitals for serious injuries, including to the eye, caused by pellet guns, used by the forces to quell protests that erupted following the killing of militant leader Burhan Wani.

--IANS

rup-rak/rn/vt