Doctors go on indefinite strike protesting lathicharge

Doctors at a government medical college and hospital here today went on an indefinite strike in protest against the police lathihcharge against them following their clash with a group of SP party supporters, police said.
The strike at Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Medical College Hospital, called by the Indian Median Association has crippled services in various wards at the associated Hallett Hospital.
Several private doctors in the city have also joined them in support which is likely to affect patients here.
A clash had broken out yesterday between supporters of Samajwadi Party MLA Irfan Solanki and junior doctors of the college after the two sides entered into a brawl, leaving several of them including the legislator injured, police said.

Following unruly scenes, the police later resorted to lathicharge to disperse the crowd. The incident left several people, including police personnel, journalists and many civilians injured, sources said.
"The way police laticharged our junior doctors and medical students, was very cruel and ruthless and our senior doctors too were not spared and were treated in a very indecent manner", IMA Kanpur Chapter, President and Chief of Medicine Department at the college, Aarti Lal Chandani told PTI.

"Almost 400 medical students and junior doctors got injured and a dozen are serious," Chandani said.
The clash started when Aryanagar MLA Solanki objected to some junior doctors of the College allegedly misbehaving with an elderly person at the Medical College Square, SSP Yashasvi Yadav said.

The injured, including the MLA, were rushed to the medical college but after the strike they have been shifted to private hospitals.
Yadav said Solanki was discharged from the hospital after treatment about midnight time.
Thirty-six junior doctors were arrested last night after the incident. While 12 have been released, rest 24 are still in custody and cases have been slapped against them, Yadav said.
According to the Principal Navneet Kumar, among the students who were seriously injured, one of them suffered a pelvic fracture and is in a serious condition.
Heavy police force has been deployed around the college following tense situation there, he added.