SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, May 7: Rattled by the Dhanbad extortion incident, finally the Indian Medical Association (IMA) Jharkhand chapter has urged Chief Minister Hemant Soren to stop the exodus of doctors from the state.
IMA state president Dr AK Singh and secretary Dr Pradip Kumar Singh have shot off a letter to the chief minister urging him to take immediate action at his level and stop the exodus of frightened doctors from the state.
“Following the extortion demand from a Dhanbad doctor, medicos of the entire state are living in a fearful environment. It is an unfortunate condition of the state. Dhanbad doctors have decided to go on an indefinite strike from May 9. If the government does not initiate any step soon, the strike would be extended in the whole of Jharkhand,” said Dr Pradip Singh in his letter to the chief minister.
A copy of the letter has also been sent to Health Minister Banna Gupta, chief secretary and additional chief secretary of health.
Doctors of the state are on the boil after a doctor of Dhanbad Dr Samir Kumar, who runs Suyash Clinic, shut down the health centre and left the city along with his family after receiving an extortion call for Rs 1 crore at once and Rs 5 lakh per month.
However, the Dhanbad police on Friday arrested four criminals involved in extortion demand from Dr Samir.
Dr Singh has also informed the chief minister that one week ago, Dhanbad IMA secretary Dr Sushil Kumar was attacked by bike-borne criminals when he was coming in a car along with his wife from Tarapith (Bengal). An FIR was lodged in the Govindpur police station but not a single criminal has been arrested so far in this connection.
“Doctors in the state are being tortured under different pretexts by the government officers either in the name of the Clinical Establishment Act or in case a critical patient dies in hospital. Sabotage of hospitals and assault on doctors have become routine affairs in Jharkhand. So, before any unpleasant situation appears in the state, initiate steps for justice of doctors,” the IMA requested the chief minister.
