Following the outrageous incident of assault on doctors in Indore the police have on Thursday arrested seven persons including the mastermind of the attack.
Police teams are on a lookout for others involved in the assault that took place at Taatpatti Bakhal area of Indore city on Wednesday when two women physicians were pelted with stones as a team of health department and administration has gone to the said area for a health check-up of contacts of a patient who had tested positive earlier.
The video of the said assault had gone viral on social media on Thursday evoking a massive outrage nationally. The arrested accused have been identified on the basis of the video of the incident which went viral after the incident, DIG police Indore Harinarayanchari Mishra said.
Total 50 persons are suspected to be involved in the incident, said the DIG adding seven of them have been arrested and have been booked on charges of obstructing Government officers under sections 186, 188 and 253 of the IPC. “I guess 99 per cent locals are abiding by the law and such stray incidents are being dealt in stringent manner,” said Mishra.
One of the women doctors assaulted had lodged a complaint with the police and sources claim that the accused in police custody could be slapped with graver charges in future. A man has been arrested by the police for spreading fake news on social media, the DIG said.
Meanwhile, a man was tested positive for Covid-19 at Taatpatti Bakhal area days ago and later died after which the administration had declared this as contentment area and cordoned off the region with barricading. The health teams were pressed into service to trace those who were in contact with the deceased.
The trouble had broken when the health team had screened an elderly woman in the area who later claimed that she had no symptoms of Covid19, yet the health staffers wanted her to go with them.
Meanwhile, Haji Md Harun, head of Jamiyat Ulema MP said that his community and religious heads are abiding by the orders of the State and Central Government since day one for prevention of the disease.
The elderly religious head however hinted that videos of patients ill-treated at hospitals and police mercilessly beating up commoners has created an atmosphere of panic and fear. He also expressed resentment over negative portrayal of the community especially after the Nizamuddin Markaz incident.
Meanwhile, noted Urdu poet Rahat Indori who hails to Indore city lashed out at the attack on physicians saying the entire nation is shocked to see such an incident from Indore locals who are considered sophisticated and well behaved. Cautioning Muslims against rumours, Indori urged them to co-operate with the administration including health staff who according to them are trying to save their lives.
He however declined to comment on the couplets penned by fellow poet Munawwar Rana saying he hasn’t seen those lines but claimed that everything can’t be solved by poetry. He also underlined the fact that solution to this grave threat shouldn’t be scanned inside mandir, masjid and other religious places hinting towards apparent communalisation of the Covid19 threat.
“It’s not an issue of Hindu or Muslims but a natural calamity and all needs to understand this,” said Indori condemning the assault on physicians.