The Resident Doctors' Association (RDA) of the Guru Tegh Bahadur (GTB) Hospital in Delhi’s Dilshad garden area called off their indefinite strike, to demand better security measures in the wake of a shooting incident, on Tuesday following an assurance from the Delhi government.
A representative from the doctors' body said that a meeting with Special Health Secretary of Delhi Danish Ashraf was held regarding improvements in security measures for the staff and patients at the hospital.
"The health department has assured us that they will look into our demands. They have agreed to take measures such as metal detectors at entry gates, and walkie-talkies for security guards, for the safety of doctors and patients," he said.
The association also mentioned that Ashraf has assured police patrolling within the hospital premises. The representative said that they had signed the letter to call off the strike.
In a case of mistaken identity, a 32-year-old man was shot dead by a teenager inside a ward of the GTB Hospital here on Sunday after which the doctors went on indefinite strike the next day. According to doctors of the Delhi government-run hospital, three doctors were present in ward 24 when the assailant pushed aside a doctor and shot Riyazuddin.The strike commenced at 9 am on Monday, affecting routine patient care in all non-emergency areas, according to members of the doctors' association.
Meanwhile, according to the police, jailed gangster Hashim Baba, who is suspected to be behind the shooting at the hospital, is facing 16 criminal cases, including murder and attempt to murder.
Hashim Baba, whose real name is Ashim, was arrested by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police in 2019 and booked under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), according to a Delhi Police dossier.
The incarceration, however, has failed to deter Baba who has been running his crime syndicate from behind bars. Since 2019, he allegedly ordered five killings, including the GTB hospital shooting, from jail, the officer said.
He is facing 16 criminal cases, including murder, attempt to murder and dacoity in east Delhi's Jaffrabad, Bhajanpura and Welcome areas. The murders were executed by the members of Hashim Baba's gang on his orders, the officer said. It is believed that the gangster formed an alliance with gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, an accused in the murder of Punjabi singer-politician Sidhu Moosewala, inside Tihar jail.
Hashim Baba allegedly helped members of the Bishnoi gang in Delhi procure firearms, the officer said. Before forming his own gang, he was a sharpshooter of the Nassir gang, active in trans-Yamuna areas. He and one Rashid alias Rashid Cablewala, were the henchmen of Nassir, also lodged in Tihar jail.
His name also cropped up in the 2016 shooting inside the Karkardooma court leading to the death of a Delhi Police constable. Four juveniles had allegedly orchestrated the attack at the behest of Hashim Baba and Nassir to eliminate their arch-rival Chennu Pehalwan, while he was produced in the court.
Baba deliberately hires minors from their gangs, as they get bail easily despite being involved in heinous crimes. The officer said the shooting at the GTB hospital was an outcome of a gang war. His shooters had come to eliminate Waseem, but they shot and killed Riyazuddin in a case of mistaken identity.
Baba's first brush with the law was in 2007 when he was caught with an illegal firearm in the I P Estates area, according to the dossier. According to a police officer, Baba was in class eight when he decided to quit his studies and began making slippers at a factory in northeast Delhi.
Soon he fell into the company of local criminals dealing drugs and running illegal betting rackets and became their sharpshooter, the officer said, adding Hashim Baba never hesitates to shoot. Due to his long hair, the gang members started calling him 'Baba' -- a nickname of Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt who made long hair popular among men in the 1990s -- while Ashim got changed to Hashim as it was easy on the tongue, the officer said.
